HIV Viral Load
Acesse agora, gratuitamente, o National Institutes of Health e consulte, com o suporte da inteligência artificial do ProtoMedi, informações técnicas detalhadas sobre este e outros medicamentos. Obtenha respostas rápidas e confiáveis sobre interações, indicações e precauções — no momento em que você mais precisa
Dados do National Institutes of Health
| HIV Viral Load : What is an HIV viral load test? An HIV viral load test measures the amount of HIV in a sample of your blood. HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus. The test looks for genetic material from the virus in your blood. These tests are called molecular tests or nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT or NAT). There are several types of NAAT tests. A PCR test is one type of NAAT that may be used to find HIV. HIV is a virus that destroys certain cells in your immune system. These cells protect your body against diseases from germs, such as viruses, bacteria, and fungi. If you lose too many immune cells, your body will have trouble fighting off infections and other diseases. You can get HIV from contact with the blood or other body fluids of a person who has an HIV infection. This usually happens through sex or sharing needles or other equipment used to inject drugs. HIV is the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). AIDS is the final, most serious stage of an HIV infection. Without treatment, the amount of HIV in your body can increase. It can gradually destroy your immune system and become AIDS. With AIDS, your body has trouble fighting off infections from germs that usually don't cause problems in healthy people. These are called opportunistic infections, and they can become life-threatening. AIDS increases your risk of developing certain cancers, too. Most people with HIV don't have AIDS. If you have HIV, you can take HIV medicines that protect your immune system and help prevent you from getting AIDS. Medicines that treat HIV are called antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART can't get rid of HIV completely, so you'll need to take medicines for the rest of your life. But ART can control HIV and help you live a longer, healthier life. Keeping your HIV viral load low is important for lowering your risk of complications with this type of infection. Having regular HIV viral load tests is an important part of making sure your HIV medicines are keeping your viral load low, so you stay healthy. Other names: nucleic acid testing, NAT, nucleic acid amplification test, NAAT, HIV PCR, RNA Test, HIV quantification | |
| Review Date: 07/04/2025 | Updated By: |