Glossary

HIV transmission is when the virus passes from one person to another. When this is from mother to baby it is called mother-to-child transmission (MTCT), perinatal or vertical transmission. Children who become HIV-positive in this way are called vertically infected children

macrophage – large white blood cell that engulfs or ‘eats’ infectious organisms and waste material from dead cells.

nucleotide – the building blocks of the genetic code (DNA/RNA). Also called a base.

reverse transcriptase – an enzyme unique to HIV. It is used to convert single-strand RNA into double-strand DNA. This is needed before HIV’s genetic material can be integrated in the human DNA. HIV drugs that stop this process are called reverse transcriptase inhibitors (RTIs).

RITA – this is a type of HIV test that can indicate whether you recemtly became HIV positive. This is defined as being the last six months.

RITA stands for Recent Infection Treatment Algorithm. In the UK, this test is used to be called STARHS (Serological Testing Algorithm for Recent HIV Seroconversion).

It is also sometimes called a de-tuned or recency HIV test.

See this Q&A on RITA testing.