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Amplifying and Quantifying HIV-1 RNA in HIV Infected Individuals with Viral Loads Below the Limit of Detection by Standard Clinical Assays
Published on: September 26, 2011
An unexpected undetectable viral load in a vulnerable woman
1Brownlee Infectious Disease Centre, Gartnavel General Hospital, Sandyford Initiative, Glasgow, UK. gillian.fraser@ggc.scot.nhs.uk
Abstract:
We present a case of a vulnerable HIV-positive African woman who on initial visits to the clinic had an undetectable HIV viral load without giving a history of being on antiretroviral therapy (ART) who then had an abrupt and significant rise in viral load and fall in CD4 count to below the recommended treatment level of 350 cells/μL. She gave a history of having been given a 'white tablet' from the man who had trafficked her. As genuine 'elite controllers' are rare and do not usually follow this pattern, we suspect that this woman was unknowingly on ART.
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