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

January 2008     View PDF     En español

Viral load and women

HIV levels are thought to be somewhat different for women and men, although there remains some degree of debate about this. Women may have a “naturally” lower viral load than men, especially in early HIV infection. Because the current federal guidelines base its decisions for starting anti-HIV therapy more on CD4 cell count than on viral load, this probably does not impact treatment for many women. However, women should be aware that a viral load above 30,000, or even 60,000, might indicate a “high” viral load for them.