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What Does It Mean to Have an Undetectable Viral Load for HIV?
HIV Internist Stella Safo, MD, explains what it means for someone with HIV to have an undetectable viral load (with antiretroviral therapy).
Written by Lauren Smith, MA | Reviewed by Mera Goodman, MD, FAAP
Updated on July 30, 2023Your viral load refers to the amount of virus in your bloodstream. Today's HIV treatments (antiretroviral therapy) do not cure the illness. Instead, they help people with HIV achieve an undetectable viral load.
Keeping your viral load low means your HIV likely won’t progress to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). An undetectable viral load is great for protecting your own health, but it also helps others. That’s because it reduces the risk of transmitting HIV to others.
Additional Medical Contributors
- Stella Safo, MD, MPHStella A. Safo, MD, MPH, is an HIV primary care physician and assistant professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). HIV treatment as prevention.
HIV.gov. (2023). Preventing sexual transmission of HIV.
View All References (1)
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. (2020). 10 things to know about HIV suppression.
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