CD3+CD4+ count and Viral Load

Dec 16, 2012

Good afternoon Dr. Holodniy,

First and foremost, thank you for doing this! This is absolutely invaluable. I just found out that I am HIV+ back in late November and have already started on HAART regiment of Complera. My CD3+CD4+ count is in the mid 800 range and the % being at 28%. My initial viral load is at 444. There is a plethora of information out there. My doctor says this is a "GOOD START" however, given that my viral load is so low, it may be difficult to do the genotype of the strain. I would like to know what numbers I can expect when keeping up with the medication, diet, and exercise. Also, is it possible to get the viral load down to <20 or even <10?

Response from Dr. Holodniy

You doctor is correct. Your CD4 count and percent are in the normal range and your viral load is very low. In addition, most laboratories will not perform a resistance test if the viral load is < 1,000 copies/ml, which your is. So yes, given where you are starting from, there should be no difficult in getting to undetectable viral load (certainly < 20 where most commercial test thresholds are). Since your CD4 count is already in the normal range, you can expect some, but not a dramatic increase in number.