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FAQs About HIV Viral Load Tests From The Body's "Ask the Experts" Forums

Viral Load Basics | Viral Load Test Results | Viral Load and HIV Treatment | Viral Load "Blips" | Viral Load and HIV Transmission

Viral Load Basics

Viral Load Test Results

Six months ago my partner's viral load was about 15,000. But recently we found out that it's over one million! What could potentially cause such a large viral load jump?
I was recently diagnosed with HIV. My CD4 count is 462 and my viral load is 58,300. Based on these numbers, would it be possible to determine when I was infected? Also, should I think about starting treatment?
Will steroid treatment affect my viral load test results?
My viral load jumped from 30,000 to 23 million. Could this be an error, or is it something more serious?
If I have a high viral load, can I still be a "long-term nonprogressor"?
(A long-term nonprogressor is somebody who has had HIV for a long time -- usually eight years or more -- but whose immune system remains perfectly healthy, even though they've never taken HIV meds.)
What does it mean to have an "undetectable" viral load?
Is it possible to have an "undetectable" viral load if you've never taken HIV medications?
How can two of the available HIV viral load tests -- PCR and NASBA -- both be legitimate when they each get different results?
Do different viral load tests have different definitions of "undetectable"?
What does the "log" mean in my viral load test results?

Viral Load and HIV Treatment

Viral Load "Blips"

Viral Load and HIV Transmission

For frequently asked questions on other HIV/AIDS topics, click here.

This article was provided by The Body's "Ask the Experts" Forums.

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