Viral Load Tests: What they mean ·
Roughly speaking, a viral load above 100,000 is considered high, and one below 1,000 is considered low. Viral load tests can only reliably detect HIV down to a certain level. Below this the tests are not yet sensitive enough.
Viral loads vary so enormously that doctors sometimes express them in logs. A log is just the number of noughts in the figure. Thus a viral load of 3 logs is 1,000, one of 5 logs in 100,000 and so on.
The tests used until recently in the UK had a lower limit of detection of 50. If your viral load was below 50, it was said to be undetectable.
It’s very important to realise that undetectable does not mean no HIV. It just means that the treatments have suppressed its level below a certain limit; but it is still there in your body and will reappear if you stop taking treatment.
Undetectable also does not mean uninfectious. Some people can have no detectable HIV in their blood but significant amounts in their cum or up their bum and can still transmit it.
The newest tests used by some clinics are more sensitive and can measure viral loads down to 40 or 20 copies. Because of this, some men who have had an undetectable viral load for a while are coming back with a very small viral load. This is nothing to worry about. A viral load below 100 that isn’t going up is perfectly adequate.
Comment
Previous article: Viral Load Tests Next article: Viral Load Tests: What they are used for
