Dr. Flash explains what a viral load is and how an undetectable viral load can prevent the spread of HIV.
The goal of antiretrovirals (ARVs) treatment is to reduce the viral load to an undetectable level.
HIV viral load is the amount of virus in the body of someone living with HIV. A low viral load greatly improves health and prevents the spread of the virus.
Being HIV undetectable means that the amount of virus in the body of an individual with HIV (viral load) is so low that standard lab tests do not detect it. Typically in the U.S. this means there are fewer than 20 to 75 copies of virus per milliliter of blood, depending on the test.
#AskTheHIVDoc is a video series from Greater Than AIDS featuring top HIV doctors providing answers to commonly-asked questions about HIV prevention, testing and treatment.
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