Viral Load Monitoring

Before understanding the meaning, of Viral load monitoring, it is very important to clarify certain related concepts like CD4 cells and T-cells.

What are CD4 cells?

This is a type of cells that, provided immunity by fighting viral, fungal and protozoan infections. They coordinate with our immune system by instructing other cells to do their functions. HIV viruses, target these CD4 cells and degenerate their functioning, thus hampering our immune system. The more the count of CD4 cells, the stronger would be our immunity. But HIV reduces the count of these cells gradually.

What are T-cells or helper T-cells?

T- Cells are the main active elements of the CD4 cells that actually fight the harmful foreign components. They are the main soldiers. T-cells originate in the thymus.

What is viral load?

Viral load is the total number of HIV genetic materials or RNA that exists in the blood plasma in per micro liter or per milliliter of the blood sample. Viral load test is a blood test that determines the number of these RNAs. Viral load monitoring is the frequent test of viral load that aims to decrease the number of HIV RNAs, by providing the suitable antiretroviral drugs.

The HIV Virus, significantly targets the CD4, helper T-cells of the human body. The CD4 count is the total number of CD4 cells in one micro liter of the blood. The CD4 count has a great significance in detecting the level and impact of HIV in our body. The lesser the count, the larger will be the impact of the virus. In a normal healthy person, the count is always above 500. However, the count of CD4 should never decrease less than 200 in a HIV positive person. A CD4 count less than 200 means gradual loss of immunity. The number of HIV virus in per micro liter of the blood is called the viral load. The CD4 count helps on viral load monitoring.

It has been studied that 35% of the HIV patients are likely to suffer from severe HIV opportunistic infections, if viral load tests are conducted just once in a year. Many of them are likely to die, if frequent viral load monitoring is not conducted. Viral load monitoring is conducted by health care workers, to see whether a particular antiretroviral therapy is working successfully or not. Importance of viral load monitoring:

• It assesses the intensity of the HIV virus in the body
• It determines which antiretroviral therapy would work best for a given period.
• It determines the effect of the antiretroviral therapy or drugs.

However, one has to keep in mind that the CD4 count test may yield different result at different time. The doctors may get confused due to that. Therefore, it is very essential to conduct several tests to round off the CD4 count while undergoing viral load monitoring.

When an antiretroviral therapy is given to a HIV positive patient, in an average, 50 more CD4 cells per micro liter are newly generated in a span of one week. That ideally means, more viruses in that given area of blood are combated due to increase in the number of CD4 cells. This facilitates better viral load monitoring.

Facts about viral loads

• Viral load less than 10,000 per milliliter of blood plasma, is considered as less
• Viral load more than 100,000 per milliliter of blood plasma is considered as more.
• Low viral load means high CD4 count and the vice versa
• Women are less vulnerable to viral load due to some typical hormonal responses to it.
• The progression and intensity of the HIV disease depends on the number of viral load and the CD4 count. A heavy viral load can be combated, it the CD4 count is high. However, a lower viral load may not be pacified, if the CD4 count is low.

Therefore viral load monitoring in frequent examples is very essential, not only to determine the viral load, but also to count the number of CD4 cells to fight the HIV RNAs.