Glossary

coinfection – having more than one infection, eg HIV and TB, or HIV and hepatitis C.

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.

bacteria – single-cell micro-organisms without a nucleus.

percentage (%) – a number as a proportion of 100.

axis – line on a graph to measure data. Graphs usually have a vertical axis (y-axis) and horizontal axis (x-axis). An axis should show what is being measured and the units of measurement, eg ‘time (in minutes)’.