Meaning that any viral load less than 20 copies per millilitre can't be detected using PCR, any thing more than this is considered detectable. Ankylosing Spondylitis Pain: Fact or Fiction, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/whatishiv.html, https://hivinfo.nih.gov/understanding-hiv/fact-sheets/hiv-treatment-basics, https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/art/index.html, https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/livingwithhiv/protecting-others.html, https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/how-to-prevent-stis, https://www.avert.org/living-with-hiv/antiretroviral-treatment/what-does-undetectable-mean, Ultra-processed food consumption linked to premature, preventable death, Cancer and bone health: Chemotherapy and smoking may up fracture risk, Mystery solved? For instance, HIV can develop into AIDS, where the immune system is severely damaged. Keep reading to learn more about undetectable viral loads. Learn more about HIV treatment. A person with a detectable viral load can pass HIV to a sexual partner, and a detectable viral load may affect your immune system and result in infections or cancers. However, you will still test positive for HIV with an at-home or clinic antibody test. Many rapid HIV tests deliver results in 30 minutes or fewer. HIV-negative people have no viral load. Taking antiretroviral medications during pregnancy and delivery can greatly reduce the risk of passing HIV on to a child. Usually, if the viral load is high for a long time, the CD4 count is low. It's usually highest when you first find out that you have it. Having an undetectable viral load does mean that there is not enough HIV in your body fluids to pass HIV on during sex. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person with an undetectable viral load. HIV RNA (viral load) and CD4 T lymphocyte (CD4) cell count are the two surrogate markers of antiretroviral treatment . There can be a lot of misinformation and misconceptions surrounding the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). There are now more than 30 ARV drugs available to treat HIV. People with undetectable viral loads must continue taking antiretroviral therapy. Gatanaga H, Tsukada K, Honda H, et al. An undetectable viral load doesn't mean the HIV virus is gone from your body, though. I found this page helpful because the content on the page: (check all that apply), I did not find this page helpful because the content on the page: (check all that apply). Remember, a small viral load an. In other words, you are not infectious. How safe is sex with an undetectable viral load? HIV therapy (antiretroviral [ARV] drug) reduces the viral load in the blood, and when the viral load is less than 20 copies/mL, then it is said to be an undetected viral load. Authors Robert W . HIV Viral Load and Transmissibility of HIV Infection: Undetectable Equals Untransmittable. Antiretroviral therapy (ART) involves taking several drugs that prevent HIV from replicating. As the campaign slogan puts it, 'Undetectable equals Untransmittable' or 'U=U'. Antiretroviral therapy is medication that helps to keep the viral load in the body under control. The results of a viral load test are described as the number of copies of HIV RNA in a millilitre of blood. The easiest way to lookup drug information, identify pills, check interactions and set up your own personal medication records. 2009;48(2):260-262. Stopping or reducing antiretroviral therapy will give the virus a chance to accumulate and weaken the immune system again. How do ARV drugs cause an undetectable viral load? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that an undetectable viral load is when someone has fewer than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. Or are you new to this field? Antiretroviral drugs cannot completely remove HIV from the body. HIV medicine can even make the viral load so low that a test can't detect it. These increased viral loads may occur between tests, and there may be no symptoms. Knowing these numbers helps determine a persons treatment. HIV attacks CD4 cells, a type of white blood cell that normally helps the body fight infections. If a viral load is considered undetectable, it means the medication is working. Last updated on Jan 28, 2022. People experiencing symptoms or health problems related to HIV should start improving after reaching an undetectable viral load. Official answer by Drugs.com An undetectable viral load means that the amount of HIV in a person's blood is no longer detectable on a normal blood test. The CDC states that it remains unclear whether people with undetectable viral loads can still transmit the virus by sharing needles and syringes. Additionally, the CDC reports that treatment of pregnant women with HIV and their babies reduces viral load count as well as the risk of the baby contracting HIV in utero. The drugs are divided into eight classes. This is sometimes called treatment as prevention or undetectable = untransmittable (U=U). Discover the best time to test, other at-home tests, next steps after testing, and more. HIV-positive people should consider continuing on antiretroviral medications to remain healthy and keep their viral loads undetectable. People with low viral loads have a very low risk of transmitting the virus to a partner who is HIV negative, so sex for them is not much different than for couples without HIV. HIV Viral Load and Transmissibility of HIV Infection: Undetectable Equals Untransmittable JAMA. Viral load levels in blood or genital fluids or secretions are often similar. 1 This finding underlines the importance of using condoms when having sex, even if a man is taking antiretroviral therapy and has an undetectable viral load in blood. What does undetectable viral load mean? It was a Journey to Achieve Viral Suppression. Score: 4.8/5 (52 votes) . The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that an undetectable viral load is when someone has fewer than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. These studies involved more than 3,000 couples having sex without the use of a condom over many years, and there were no cases of HIV transmission. 2004-2022 Healthline Media UK Ltd, Brighton, UK, a Red Ventures Company. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a small commission. Antiretroviral therapy aims to reduce a persons viral load to undetectable levels, where the. If you skip your daily dose of ARV drugs or you stop because you feel fine, your viral load will go up and you could get sick or spread HIV to a partner. HIV viral load and transmissibility of HIV infection: undetectable equals untransmittable . Clinics in the United States generally consider a person's viral load to be undetectable if it falls below 50 cps/mL, although different viral load tests have different cut-offs. 2019 Feb 5;321(5):451-452. doi: 10.1001/jama.2018.21167. Skip to content Client Portal HIV & STI Testing PrEP & PEP Syringe Services Calendar Services & Communities Services By comparison, people with untreated HIV have viral load levels in the hundreds of thousands or even millions. You will now be able to tab or arrow up or down through the submenu options to access/activate the submenu links. Having an undetectable viral load likely reduces the risk of HIV transmission through sharing needles, syringes, or other drug injection equipment (for example, cookers), but we don't know by how much. If a viral load is considered undetectable, it means the medication is working. People who have an undetectable viral load are unlikely to get ill due to HIV, have better long-term health and longer life expectancy than those who dont. Also discover other ways to reduce the risk of HIV transmission, what a community viral load is, and more. Viral Suppression and an Undetectable Viral Load, Early HIV Diagnosis and Treatment Important for Better Long-term Health Outcomes. People with HIV who take HIV medicine as prescribed and get and keep an undetectable viral load will not transmit HIV to their HIV-negative partners through sex. Try out and provide feedback on our beta version of the HIV.gov chatbot, which is still undergoing testing and development prior to its official release. The viral load is the level of HIV in the blood. Viral load blips are temporary increases in viral load that may occur in people taking ARV therapy every day. That's because it reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to others. An undetectable viral load means that a person has effectively zero risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner. These may last for a few days to a few weeks and can include: HIV can worsen without treatment and cause additional complications. The organization recommends that women with an undetectable viral load avoid breastfeeding. All rights reserved. (2020). People with AIDS are vulnerable to many infections and can become life-threateningly ill. Doctors use blood tests to check for the presence and severity of HIV. If someone has an undetectable viral load, it does not mean they are cured of HIV. An undetectable viral load is where antiretroviral treatment (ART) has reduced your HIV to such small quantities that it can no longer be detected by standard blood tests.People living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load cannot pass HIV on through sex. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Drugs.com provides accurate and independent information on more than 24,000 prescription drugs, over-the-counter medicines and natural products. Research finds a new injectable form of PrEP is superior to daily oral tablets to prevent the contraction of HIV. Learn more. A viral load is considered undetectable if a test cant quantify the HIV particles in 1 milliliter of the blood. They can ask their healthcare providers to explain viral load and the risks of HIV transmission. There is currently no cure for HIV. HIV multiplies in the body by making copies of itself. A healthcare provider will order follow-up testing at regular intervals to see whether the viral load changes over time. But your doctor will normally just talk about your viral load as a number. Attention A T users. If you skip doses of your HIV medicine, even now and then, your viral load will quickly go back up. For most people, ARV drugs will reduce the amount of virus down to an undetectable viral load in 6 months or less. If the HIV medicines you are taking dont suppress your viral load, you and your health care provider can talk about whether another combination of HIV medicines might work better for you. A person's viral load is considered "durably undetectable" when all viral load test results are undetectable for at least six months after their first undetectable test result. The drugs suppress HIV to protect the immune system. 2. Even though the virus is not detected in the blood, it is still present in other parts of your body, such as the lymph nodes, brain, and reproductive organs. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) notes that three major studies showed there is no risk for transmitting HIV sexually between men and women or men and men if one partner does not have HIV and the other has an undetectable viral load. Please refresh the page and try again. It means that the viral load becomes undetectable when tested with the standard tests. Read about The National HIV/AIDS Strategy, our countrys whole-of-society approach to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. Subscribe to Drugs.com newsletters for the latest medication news, new drug approvals, alerts and updates. It is a long-term but manageable disease. Almost everyone who takes HIV medicine as prescribed can reach an undetectable viral load, usually within six months after starting treatment. visit VeteransCrisisLine.net for more resources. An undetectable viral load means that the amount of HIV in a persons blood is no longer detectable on a normal blood test. What is an undetectable viral load? What does it mean to be undetectable? An undetectable viral load is great for protecting your own health, but it also helps others. This means that most people will need to be on treatment for 7 to 12 months to have a durably undetectable viral load. Being undetectable means that the virus is less able to attack your immune system cells, which means that there will be less damage to your immune system. However, treatment can improve health and reduce the virus to levels where it is undetectable and untransmissible. Answer (1 of 3): An undetectable HIV viral load is generally considered to be less than 20 copies per milliliter of blood. An HIV viral load is the amount of HIV in a drop of blood. Your viral load result may occasionally shift from undetectable to a low level (usually fewer than 400 copies/mL) and then back to undetectable. The Center for AIDS Information & Advocacy Aug. 6, 2012. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our. (2016). U=U means that people with HIV who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral loadthe amount of HIV in the bloodby taking antiretroviral therapy (ART) daily as prescribed cannot sexually transmit the virus to others. Learn more about the factors that affect the risk of. It simply means that the viral load is so low that the test is unable to measure it. Viral suppression helps to keep you healthy and prevents transmission. Even though the virus is not detected in the blood, it is still present in other parts of your body, such as the lymph nodes, brain, and reproductive organs. There is currently no cure for HIV. If you're living with HIV and have an undetectable viral load, you will still test positive for HIV if you get tested. The results of these studies show that if a person with HIV is on ART with a completely suppressed HIV viral load, the risk of infecting an HIV-negative sex partner is exceedingly low. 3. This typically means fewer than 200 copies of HIV per milliliter of blood. CVL can be a valuable tool in determining which HIV treatments effectively lower viral load. However, it is still possible to pass on other sexually transmitted infections, such as: People with an undetectable viral load should still follow safe sex practices. A high CVL may put people within that community who dont have HIV at greater risk of contracting it. In a mixed-status couple, one partner is HIV-positive and one isnt. This test is helpful before and after a change in medication. Medically reviewed by Sally Chao, MD. The aim of antiretroviral treatment is to reach and maintain an undetectable viral load. HIV overtakes CD4 cells to create more copies of itself, destroying the host cell. Its also possible to transmit HIV to partners by sharing needles. We include products we think are useful for our readers. In the past, before todays ARV drugs, HIV weakened a persons immune system, resulting in infections or cancers, called opportunistic infections and AIDS-related cancers. There are many different treatment options available. Learn more about early signs of an HIV, A false-positive HIV test occurs when a test incorrectly indicates that a person has contracted the virus. Veterans Crisis Line: HIV-positive people may want to consider precautions to lower the risk of HIV transmission and to reduce the transmission of other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). A person's viral load is considered "durably undetectable" when it remains undetectable for at least 6 months after a first undetectable test result. For as long as your viral load stays undetectable, your chance of passing on HIV to a sexual partner is zero. Undetectable Viral Load When the amount of HIV in the blood is too low to be detected with a viral load (HIV RNA) test. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations. A lower HIV viral load is below 10,000 copies. . Learn more here. This is called viral suppression. What to Expect at Your First HIV Care Visit, Viral Suppression and Undetectable Viral Load, Tips on Taking Your HIV Medication Every Day, Other Health Issues of Special Concern for People Living with HIV, Coronavirus (COVID-19) and People with HIV, Prior National HIV/AIDS Strategies (2010-2021), AHEAD: Americas HIV Epidemic Analysis Dashboard, Activities Combating HIV Stigma and Discrimination, U.S. Government Global HIV/AIDS Activities, National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, National Asian & Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, National Gay Men's HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care & Treatment, AIDS 2020 (23rd International AIDS Conference Virtual), Get tips on taking HIV medicine as prescribed, Read about the scientific evidence of an undetectable viral load in preventing the sexual transmission of HIV, What to Start: Choosing an HIV Treatment Regimen, Find a Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Medical Provider, Questions to Ask Your Doctor About HIV Drugs, Form Approved OMB# 0990-0379 Exp. 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