Please Note: Due to volume considerations, not all questions can be answered. Questions most likely to be answered will be those of general interest to a broad group of visitors to this forum. Questions pertaining to a specific case; requests for diagnosis, medical advice, or second opinion; or requests for opinions about untested alternative therapies will generally not be answered.
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HIV behaviour pattern
May 5, 2008
Hi, I'm a 23 y/o male, infected since september 2005 and my CD4 has never been higher than 530. My viral load was never higher than 20.000, currently staying at 6.000. My doctor said it is that small because my virus is not multi-resistant. Does this makes sense?
Thanks.
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Response from Dr. McGowan
I am making the assumption based on your question that you are not on treatment. If this is the case, the fact that your viral load is 6,000 and your CD4 count is in the 530 range has not got anything to do with whether your HIV is drug resistant or not. Since you are not on antiviral medication, your viral load level is a measure of the balance set up between your immune system and your virus.
Most guidelines recommend that your doctor should test the virus for the presence of drug resistance prior to initiating treatment in case you acquired a drug resistant strain. This will help to plan for effective therapy if and when it comes time to start.
Best,
Joe
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