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Glossary

Selected words and phrases

viral rebound – when your viral load has been undetectable (under 50 copies/mL) and then becomes detectable. Sometimes viral rebound can be a lab error, sometimes a small temporary blip, and sometimes a real rebound that shows your virus may have developed resistance to one or more of the drugs in a combination treatment. See: virological failure.

IDU – injecting drug user

reinfection – catching HIV a second time. When an HIV-positive becomes infected with second strain or type of HIV. Sometimes called superinfection.

BD (or bid) – a short hand term for medication dosing that means ‘twice-daily’.

See also q12H.

biopsy – taking a small sample of body tissue for examination and testing in the laboratory.