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Glossary

Selected words and phrases

monoinfection – infection with only one virus

codon – the word for the junction on genetic material (DNA or RNA) occupied by three nucleotides (or bases) to form an amino acid. In HIV it is most used when refering to drug resistance. There is an amino acid at each codon and the codons are numbered (starting from 1) for each section of the HIV gene. For example the mutation M184V in RT refers to a mutation change at codon 184 in the reverse transcriptase gene.

BMI (body mass index) – a calculation using  height and weight that is used to decide whether someone is over or under weight.

Online BMI calculator.

symptomatic – showing signs of illness.

lipid – medical term for fat. The term ‘blood lipids’ refers to cholesterol and triglyceride levels in blood.