Blood work:
Two common tests to use for
monitoring HIV disease

January 2008     View PDF     En español

What tests are used?

The three main viral load tests are Q-PCR, bDNA and NASBA. Q-PCR is the most commonly used. It is also the most sensitive and can detect very low levels of virus in the blood. bDNA is the most accurate in counting high levels of HIV. Every test has a certain error level, some as high as 20%. In addition, they need different amounts of blood, which may be an issue for some people giving blood for other tests at the same time. It’s also important to use the same lab and test each time to correctly check any change in your viral load.