Staph Infections And Increased Viral Load

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Viral Load Tests

What Is Viral Load? How Is the Test Used? How Are Changes in Viral Load Measured? Viral Load "Blips" What Do the Numbers Mean? Are There Problems With the Viral Load Test? What Is Viral Load? The viral load test measures the amount of HIV virus in your blood. There are different techniques for doing this: The PCR ( p olymerase c hain r eaction) method uses an enzyme to multiply the HIV in the blood sample. Then a...

Ask the Experts

Staph infection and HIV

Hello Doctor,I would like to start off by thanking you for all the information and insight you provide via this website. It has been a great source of knowledge and sometimes even inspiration for me over the past couple of years. I tested positive...

Response from Mark Holodniy, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.I.C.

Stanford University, School of Medicine

Although I always like to get cultures of these kinds of infections, both to confirm the diagnosis, but also to get the antibiotic susceptibility testing to insure I am using the right antibiotic; it is highly likely this is a MRSA infection... Read more »

Should there be concern about my increased viral load?

Since testing positive in October of last year my viral load has gone from 23,906, to 59,500, to the most recent reading of 369,000. My CD4 count has been 1032, to 749, to 879. My doctor wants to monitor my numbers before starting treatment with...

Response from Benjamin Young, M.D., Ph.D.

Rocky Mountain CARES

Yes, I'm with your doctor on continuing to monitor things. While your increased viral load is of some concern, the fact that your CD4 count remains high and that you had an ongoing infection all point that the viral load increase may not be... Read more »

Can other infections increase viral load

I was diagnosed HIV+ in Sept. 2004 (CD4-90/9%, VL 750,000). I immediately went on Sustiva and Truvada. By my second labs, my CD4s rose to 240/12%, VL <400. For my latest test last week, we wanted to see if I was undetectable under the more...

Response from Mark Holodniy, M.D., F.A.C.P., C.I.C.

Stanford University, School of Medicine

Could be blip, but rechecking that viral load soon is the right thing to do.... Read more »

Recurring Staph Infections

I am a healthy HIV-er with an undetectable viral load and 1025 CD4 count. I'm currently taking Atripla, eat a healthy diet, and workout 4-5x/wk. Since contracting HIV, I have had numerous staph infections- 3 of them MRSA. I never had a single...

Response from Keith Henry, M.D.

University of Minnesota, School of Medicine

MRSA skin infections are notoriously tough to clear even in HIV negative persons due partly to persistent reservoirs of infections (often nose, peri-anal area, surface of objects, partners also infected). Odds for clearance seem only modestly... Read more »

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Coffe may increase viral load

Posted by Anonymous, 2 Replies

I read an acticle about coffee increasing viral load has anyone else read this?

Read more »

cd4 at 35 and viral load 521 advice please!!!!

Posted by poliwog, 5 Replies

I just got back my labs. I started on Combivir and Kaletra 6 months ago. My viral load was over 100K and mt cd4 at 90. Afer 6 months my VL wentr way down but my cd4 count is 35. I was given two meds to fight any possible secondary infections and... Read more »

The Failure of Viral Load Tests

Posted by Anonymous, 2 Replies

The Failure of Viral Load Tests
JAMA Study Shakes AIDS Science, Angers HIV Advocates

A nationwide team of orthodox AIDS researchers led by doctors Benigno Rodriguez and Michael Lederman of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland are disputing the... Read more »

Viral Load Testing.

Posted by sunkyst, 3 Replies

I went to see a doctor today who does internal medicine and is also a HIV specialist. I told him about all of the HIV tests I've had done over the past few weeks i.e several tests where I tested negative and the last one at just over 11 weeks where... Read more »

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