HIV Viral Load Monitoring in Resource-Limited Regions: Optional or Necessary?
Authors
Calmy, AFord, N
Hirschel, B
Reynolds, S
Lynen, L
Goemaere, E
Garcia de la Vega, F
Perrin, L
Rodriguez, W
Affiliation
Medecins sans Frontieres, Access to Medicines Campaign, Geneva, 1211, Switzerland. acalmy@gmail.comIssue Date
2007-01-01
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Clinical Infectious DiseasesAbstract
Although it is a standard practice in high-income countries, determination of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load is not recommended in developing countries because of the costs and technical constraints. As more and more countries establish capacity to provide second-line therapy, and as costs and technological constraints associated with viral load testing decrease, the question of whether determination of the viral load is necessary deserves attention. Viral load testing could increase in importance as a guide for clinical decisions on when to switch to second-line treatment and on how to optimize the duration of the first-line treatment regimen. In addition, the viral load is a particularly useful tool for monitoring adherence to treatment, performing sentinel surveillance, and diagnosing HIV infection in children aged <18 months. Rather than considering viral load data to be an unaffordable luxury, efforts should be made to ensure that viral load testing becomes affordable, simple, and easy to use in resource-limited settings.DOI
10.1086/510073PubMed ID
17143828Additional Links
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/page/cid/brief.htmlLanguage
enISSN
1537-6591ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1086/510073
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