what is viral load in hiv

Viral load in HIV refers to the amount of HIV in a person's blood. It is measured through a blood test that looks for genetic material from the virus in the blood. A low viral load means that HIV medicines are working to stop the virus from growing, while a high viral load means that the virus is growing and treatment is not working well. The goal of HIV treatment is to reduce the amount of virus in the blood until it is undetectable, which means that the viral load is less than 20 copies per milliliter of blood. An undetectable viral load is compatible with a normal or near-normal life span and makes it less likely that a person can transmit HIV to others. Regular viral load tests are needed to monitor HIV infection and treatment effectiveness