Question
What does a CD4 count of 42 mean?
26 August 2011. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load, Starting treatment.
I found that i was positive a year back, i am on art and my cd4 count is 42. What does this suggest?
Answer
Thanks for your question.
I hope you are finding life easier as you get used to HIV. Getting a diagnosis is difficult but it is good that you are now on treatment.
Your CD4 count is a marker of how strong your immune system is, and 42 is pretty low. This means that you are still at risk of HIV-related symptoms until it gets higher because of your ARV treatment.
I am assuming that your CD4 count was lower when you were diagnosed. When starting treatment at a CD4 count below 50, it can take a year to reach 100 and another year perhaps to reach 200.
During this time the risk of infections is lower than if you were not on treatment but until you get to 200 you should also be prescribed an antibiotic called Septrin.
Also, while your CD4 count is below 50, your doctor should examine your eyes to check you do not have vision problems relating to an infection called CMV.
If your CD4 count has not gone up over the last year, then you should ask your doctor to explain these results in case alternative treatments could be used.
Here are a couple of links to infromation about CD4 counts.
https://i-base.info/ttfa/section-1/17-cd4-count-as-a-surrogate-marker
https://i-base.info/ttfa/section-1/19-interpreting-cd4-results-cd4-count-and-cd4-percentage
I was diagnosed with HIV on the 22nd March 2018 and started with a treatment of one Capsule a night with a Viral load of 98 and Cd4 count of 295. Do i have to be more worried about this? How long will it take for Cd4 count to increase? My husband is also HIV Positive with Herpes virus and we had unprotected sex once since we heard that we have the virus. Please help as i cant cope im always scared that i might die any soon
Hi Peter,
Because your CD4 is less than 200 you should be taking antibiotics as these will help prevent you from getting any infections. This is normal practice and your doctor should be aware of this. Please talk to them about this and not simple buy them over the counter.
Hi, I have been diagonised with hiv which was already in late stage according to the journals I have gone through. My CD4 counts was 72 absolute with 1075000 viral load. I am in Viraday from the last 1 month with some lever medicine, TB medication was not done as per doctor’s decision. I am not proscribed with any of the said antibiotic like I have seen in your advices. Is it very compulsory to take the antibiotics till my CD4 counts reaches 200 and above? Should I go and buy the antibiotic without my doctor proscription? What will be the doses to take in a day if I do so?
Hi Charles,
Its not possible to say how long it will take for your CD4 to rise, or if its will every reach 500. However, it will rise because you’re on medication. For more info about CD4’s below 50 and what you should be aware of, please see here:
http://i-base.info/qa/4643
Hie.. My CD4 count is 68 and I’m now on treatment.. For how long will I gain 500+
Hi Kaizier,
What do you mean by a grant?
Given that your CD4 is low, its important that as soon as the 2 weeks is over that you start meds. For more info, please see here:
http://i-base.info/qa/4643
I was told I have a cd4 count of 33 and also have tb.I had to take tb treatment for two week’s before starting ARVs but they started me with 3 pills for tb because my weight was less than 50kg, now I’m taking 4 pills and eating more can I apply for a grant if so how much will I be getting? Thanxs
Hi Vuyisa,
How are you coping with your diagnose? Are you able to get any support?
A CD4 of 200 is low, therefore, its important that you take ARVs. For more on CD4’s of 200 and less, please see here:
http://i-base.info/qa/3560
I’m not sure what the other numbers are. Were you told what your viral load is?
I have a question,on the 12th of this month I was told that I’m HIV+. My CD4 is 200 and there’s other numbers, 440- 1330. I’m not on med’s. Do I have something to worry about?
Hi Harry,
How are you coping with your diagnoses? Are you able to get any support?
A CD4 of less than 200 is low, please see here for more info:
http://i-base.info/qa/3560
Have you been given ARVs? If so what? Is there anything specific that you’d like to know?