Glossary

peer support – support provided by people who share the same experience or problem. HIV peer support is provided by other HIV-positive people.

virological failure – the term for when viral load levels never reach undetectable, or if they rebound to higher levels after previously being undetectable. See clinical failure.

half-life (T1/2) – the time taken a drug to clear from the highest concentration to half this level. Drugs have different half-lives in different compartments (ie half-life in blood can be different from the half-life inside a cell). It take 5 x the half-live for a drug to be considered cleared.

replicate – to duplicate, copy or reproduce. It is more scientifically accurate to refer to a virus replicating than reproducing.

dyspnoea – medical term for symptoms related to difficulty breathing, shortness or breath.