Question

Does my boyfriend have AIDS?

22 April 2008. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.

My boyfriend has a CD4 count of 235 and a viral load of 100,000. Does this mean he has AIDS?

Answer

Answer: Simon Collins

Technically-not. There are 2 main definitions of AIDS that are used at the moment. One is the definition of the American CDC (Centres for Disease Control) and the other one is the one of the WHO (World Health Organisation). The former uses the CD4 count as an indicator for the different stages of development of the infection and the AIDS stage cut-off is 200. Hence it is accepted that we are talking about AIDS in the case when someone has a CD4 count below 200.

There are many people who have been way below that, however, and antiretroviral therapy has helped in recovering their immune system. As a result their CD4 counts have returned to the normal range.

By both definitions your boyfriend is HIV-positive but he does not have AIDS.