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

January 2008     View PDF     En español

Commentary

Using viral load tests, CD4 cell counts and other information about your health help provide a clearer picture of your risk of disease progression, the state of your immune system, and your body’s ability to fight HIV. Together this information helps to monitor your HIV disease and assess how well your treatment regimen is working. If viral load decreases and CD4 cell counts increase, in general treatment is working. When no change occurs or when viral loads rise and/or CD4 cell counts fall, treatment is probably not working.

Changes in viral load in the blood usually, but not always, relate to changes in HIV levels in semen and vaginal fluids. What that means is just because your HIV level is undetectable it doesn’t mean that you can’t pass HIV onto another person. For more information about safer sex and prevention concerns for positive people, read Project Inform’s publication, Sex and Prevention Concerns for Positive People.