Question
What causes viral load blips?
5 September 2014. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Resistance.
I was diagnosed 3 months ago. I’ve read a lot of articles, research and even several books about the disease, but a lot of things still remain unclear to me.
When someone is on successful ARV treatment, what is the reason for viral load blips, are they caused by colds or other infections and diseases?
Answer
Hi,
Thank you for your enquiry. I’m sorry to hear about your diagnosis. It is good that you are wanting to learn about HIV though.
One of the reasons for blips is that viral load testing is also not very accurate at low levels. They can be caused by other infections like the flu, or a recent vaccination as well. Usually if someone has a result that looks like a blip they have a test to confirm that it was. Single blips above 50 are common and do not mean that someone has to change treatment. Test results that look like a blip may also be due to lab error.
Blips are relatively common and the US guidelines don’t recognize a blip unless its above 200.
You can find more information about viral load blips in our guide.
And information about being newly diagnosed here.
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