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 Sindi,
For some who’s never used meds and been positive for 20 years you’re doing really well. Few people are like you. With regards to the pain, this isn’t something that I can comment about as I’m not medical doctor. The best thing would be to go and see your doctor again.
Is there any reason why you’ve chosen not to use treatment?
Hi I never been on meds from 1998 tested positive and i went for my test on the 1st September my viral load is 1026 and viral load log is 3.01, do I have to take meds now. Because I went to the doctor I was sick having back legs pain and hands and the doctor give me folic acid and inflammation pills but the pain it’s not gone completely.
My cd4 count is 1453 and cd8 is 1053
Hi Mercy,
If your viral load is 1700 after being on meds since 2009 this would indicate that there is an issue with your meds. Please talk to your doctor about this as you may need to change to another combination.
Have been on art since 2009 and been changed medication several times my viral load is1700 cupsuls please advise how i can reduce and come to undetectable viral load
Hi Nokwanda,
The benefits of HIV treatment (ART) are not just to your own health. Treating your HIV will reduce the risk of your baby becoming HIV positive to almost zero. When did you start ART? If you started recently it can take several weeks to reduce viral load to undetectable, which is less than 50. But if you’ve been on treatment for a while, you can ask the clinic for another viral load test to see if your medication is working well. If not you can ask to switch to different meds.
Here is the guide, with lots of info, to HIV, pregnancy and women’s health.
Hi
am a woman of 34 years and my viral load is 702and pregnant is dangerous for to Carrie this child
the funny think is that am still taking my medication every day am really confused
Hi Mafunisa,
You haven’t asked a question but I think you’d like to know what this result means. 35 copies/ml is a way of writing your viral load result. If your viral load is less that 50 copies/ml it means you are undetectable and your HIV meds look like they’re working well.
Here’s info about undetectable = untransmittable (U=U).
35copies/ml
Hi Charles,
The main cut-off limit for viral load tests is less than 50 copies/mL. But many tests now have a lower cut-off of 20 copies/mL.
Special tests can measure down to 5 copies/mL or even to 1 copy/mL. And these tests are used in research. You can read more about this here.
my cd4 is 428 and my viral load at zero. what does that mean?