Question
What is an undetectable viral load?
27 March 2012. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
What is an undetectable viral load? I had thought it was less than 50 but when I got my results today mine was 42 (down from 82 last time). Can labs measure almost any level of virus these days?
Answer
An undetectable viral load means that the level of HIV in your blood is below the threshold needed for detection by this test.
A viral load test is a measurement of the amount of HIV in your body. The measurement is given in the number of copies in milliliter (copies/mL).
If you are on treatment, then your viral load should go down to undetectable level (less than 50 copies/mL). Once your viral load goes down, then slowly your CD4 count will increase, although not to the level before infection.
Since your viral load has reduced from 82 to 42, this is a good indication that your treatment is working for you. It is also possible for your viral load can go down further too.
Viral load technology has progressed during the last 30 years of HIV history. The tests have been greatly improved and tests used for research are even more sensitive – down to 5 or even 1 copy/mL.
All hospitals in the UK now routinely use viral load tests that measure down to 20, 40 or 50 copies/mL.
Hi Patience, In some countries, the WHO (World Health Organisation) guidelines recommend that if a woman is taking HIV treatment (ART), then she should breastfeed exclusively for 6 months. After 6 months the baby can then be weaned onto a safe diet without breastfeeding. There is more on this question here. But please discuss this with your doctor so you understand the recommendations where you live.
Being on treatment and having an undetectable viral load can protect you if you have sex without condoms.
My viral load is undetectable for how long can I breastfeed in South Africa?
My husband is not on treatment yet can we have unprotected sex and I won’t be affected??
Hi Kalogo,
When someone has a viral load of less than 50 copies, they are undetecable. So, the info that the other physician has given you is wrong.
hi my partner, viral load is 50>m/like copies. I was first told that it is now undetectable, but a few days after, another physician told me that the results of 50> still is detectable. am now confused
Hi Asit, I’m not sure what your comment or question is about. Please can you send more info.
My viral log value is 1.30 and. Below 116 copies/ml.
Viral load is below 20 IU/mL.
Hi Conny,
Undetectable viral load is under 50. But in the PARTNER study there were no transmissions of HIV with the cut-off figure of under 200. Is your partner new to HIV treatment? Or have they been on meds for a while? It could be a blip, which means viral load goes above 50 but then back down on the next test. If the virus has bounced back the it’s a good idea to ask them to go to the clinic and talk about changing meds.
Hi,my partner’s viral load is 450, we had unprotected sex so do I have high risk to be infected? Is his virul load undetectable?
Hi Reginah,
A viral load of 60 is likely to be just a blip. It could be a lab error. You can find out more info about blips here.
If my viral load is 60 what does this mean