Viral Load Measurement in HIV/AIDS Patients

With respect to HIV pathogenesis, it is known that the asymptomatic, so called clinical latency phase is far from the quiescent period it was once thought to be. More potent antiretroviral drugs and their use in clinical trials made viral load measurements quite important. Rapid and reliable quantitative assays for viral load are possible by the use of nucleic acid amplification techniques. New and accurate means of monitoring viral load by these techniques are now available to predict disease progression and monitor the effects of the therapy. It is now recommended that both viral load measurement and CD4+ T-cell count should be used concurrently to manage HIV disease and to evaluate new drugs