HIV: The Basics

Your child will get
blood tests from
time to time to
measure how
much virus is in
his/her blood.
Measuring the amount of HIV
in your child's blood: viral load
One of the goals of treating HIV is to keep the
amount of virus in your child's body as low as
possible. To see how much virus is in your child's
blood, a viral load test will be done from time to
time. Based on the test result, the doctor will know:
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if medicine is needed to help control HIV.
if the medicine already being taken is
controlling HIV.
if other medicine is needed to control HIV.
The test information will help the doctor suggest
treatment options. When your child has a very low
or undetectable viral load, he/she may not feel sick
at all or may have fewer serious infections and
illnesses related to HIV.
Anyone with HIV, even if they have a low
or undetectable viral load, can still pass
HIV to others if their blood, semen, vaginal
fluids, or breast milk get inside another
person's body.
Your child will also
have blood tests
done from time to
time to check
his/her immune
system.
Measuring your child's
immune system: CD4 cell counts
Another way to see how well your child is doing is to
check the number of CD4 cells he/she has. The CD4
cell blood test tells the doctor if your child's immune
system is weak or strong. If his/her immune system
is weak, the doctor may suggest medicines to help
prevent some serious infections.
By looking at both viral load and CD4 cell numbers,
the doctor can find out a lot about your child's health.
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