Glossary

viral load – the amount of virus in a sample of blood or other fluid. With HIV this is commonly the amount of HIV in a millilitre (mL) of blood. See viral load test.

phenotype test – a type of drug resistance that tests whether a drug is sensitive or resistance to a sample of HIV.

cross-resistance – when resistance to one drug causes resistance to other similar drugs.

This commonly happens for every class or family of HIV drugs: nukes, NNRTIs, PIs, integrase inhibitors and entry inhibitors.

PCR (polymerase chain reaction) –  type of viral load test.

primary HIV infection (PHI) – early infection (usually first six months with after HIV infection). Sometimes called acute infection.