Question
What do my viral load test results mean?
5 January 2016. Related: All topics, CD4 and viral load.
Please can you explain how viral load results mean?
I got my results back and I don’t understand them. It says log units is 2.777 and my RNA copies is 599 cp/mL.
Is this low or high? My CD4 count is 697.
Answer
Hi
Thanks for your question – and it is good that you want to understand your test results.
Sometimes this can be dfficult if your doctor has not explained them clearly. It is also okay to ask your doctor or nurse to explain anything that you are not sure of.
Viral loads tests tells you how much virus is in a millilitre of blood (or another body fluid being measured).
When not on treatment, viral load can range from undetectable to several millions. For anyone on HIV treatment (ART), viral load should ideally get to undetectable, This is defined as being less than 50 copies/mL.
Your test results are the 599 copies/mL, so your viral load is still detectable at 599.
The ‘2.777 log units’ from your test results is a slightly complicated way of saying exactly the same thing as ‘599 copies/mL’.
Because viral loads have such a huge range of numbers they are sometimes expressed in ‘log units’ to make it easier to write them on graphs and diagrams. Doctors and scientists use log scales to look at changes to viral loads over time. See this table of log units compared to viral loads in copies/mL.
Whether this is considered high or low depends on whether or not you are on treatment.
- If you’re not on treatment yet this is a relatively low viral load, which is a good thing.
- If you are on treatment, then if you only recently started ART, your viral load might still be going down.
- If you have been on treatment for more than six month, please talk to your doctor about why the results in not undetectable.
For more information about viral loads and how they relate to both treatment and infectiousness you can also have a look at the following links:
Viral Load and Treatment
Viral Load and Infectiousness
If you tell me if you are currently on treatment or not I can provide more individual information, Also, if you are on treatment, when did you start?
This answer was updated in January 2016 from a question first posted on 5 April 2012.
Hi Bigboy, the nurse is wrong. You are either HIV positive or HIV negative. Please see Q1 at this link:
http://i-base.info/qa/what-are-the-most-asked-questions
hi
l got a problem here l tested negative my wife positive,the nurse tald me that lm a carrier l transimitted the viras to my wife….lm confused please help
Hi Bas
2.28 x 10^1 means 2.28 x 10 “to the power of 1” = 2.28 x 10 = 22.8.
This means your viral load is undetectable as anything less than 50 is defined as undetectable.
I am worried about your doctor and consultants.
See this link for more information about different ways that CD4 and viral load results are reported.
http://i-base.info/qa/factsheets/units-of-measure
My VL result it 2,28×10^1 copies/ml
Then what does it mean?
The doctor said just 22,8
My friend said 22.800
The consultans said 22.800.000
It makes me confuse.
I do know math, but it’s something that really crusial so I won’t take it as a math. I need help for a real amount. Please help me to find the answer. Thank you verymuch
These results show that your HIV treatment is working. A CD4 count of 503 is strong. A viral load of less than 20 means HIV is undetectable.
Can you please assist with analysing my results
CD4 count 503
Viral loads <20
HIV log N/A
Hi Bongiwe – please talk to your doctor about wanting to have another baby. He or she will have more infomration about your general health that might be important. In general, your CD4 count is good so this would not be a reason to worry. I don;t know about creatine reading or the measures you use, but again, please ask your doctor this.
Can I hav chances of having a baby if my CD4 is 474?. My creatinine is 114H by March 2016 amd starting my ARVs? I hav 2 kids & I unlike to hav more
Hi
If your viral load is now more than 60,000 after three month on treatment, then this combination is not working for you. Tribuss is a generic formulation of the medicine called Atripla.
If you were in the UK your doctor would change you to three new drugs, including a protease inhibitor.
Please speak to your doctor about this an let us know what he/she says.
I’m taking tribuss but im not responding very well to it. My CD4 was 73 before i started the meds three months ago and now it has dropped. My viral load is very high it was 31,500 and now its double 61,200.