{"id":6570,"date":"2016-01-05T12:00:29","date_gmt":"2016-01-05T12:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/?p=6570"},"modified":"2016-07-05T15:56:57","modified_gmt":"2016-07-05T15:56:57","slug":"what-do-my-viral-load-test-results-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/i-base.info\/qa\/6570","title":{"rendered":"What do my viral load test results mean?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hi<\/p>\n

Thanks for your question – and it is good that you want to\u00a0understand your test results.<\/p>\n

Sometimes this can be dfficult if your doctor has not explained them clearly. It is also okay to ask your\u00a0doctor or nurse\u00a0to explain anything that you are not sure of.<\/p>\n

Viral loads tests\u00a0tells you how much virus is in a millilitre of blood (or another body fluid being measured).<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Your test results\u00a0are\u00a0the 599 copies\/mL, so your viral load is still detectable at 599.<\/p>\n

The \u20182.777 log units\u2019 from your test results is a slightly complicated way of saying exactly the same thing as \u2018599 copies\/mL\u2019.<\/p>\n

Because viral loads have such a huge range of numbers they are sometimes expressed in \u2018log units\u2019 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Whether this is considered high or low depends on whether or not you are on treatment.<\/p>\n