Viral load for HIV is a measure of the amount or quantity of HIV present in 1 ml of blood. This is used to monitor the goal of therapy when a person is taking anti retroviral therapy for HIV. With the therapy, the viral load should become undetectable over a period of time. This is the time when a person becomes safe for themselves and will also not transmit HIV to anyone else through sexual contact. The other measure for monitoring the well being of an HIV positive person is the CD4 count. This indirectly measures the immunity of a person to fight infections. The higher the viral load, the faster CD4 count will fall. With undetectable viral load, the CD4 count is expected to be normal.

Viral load should be done when someone tests positive for HIV antibodies. This test will confirm if the serology test is true positive or not. This will also inform regarding the amount of HIV in blood, on diagnosis.

If you are recently diagnosed with HIV, you should test at the start of therapy and after 3 to 6 months as per the advice of your doctor. Once you reach undetectable levels, then you may test every 6 months to 1 year or as per your doctor’s advice. If you have certain symptoms , your doctor will decide the frequency of testing.

No. You must not stop the ART. The idea is to achieve complete viral suppression. Just like common chronic disorders eg hypertension , diabetes, hypothyroidism etc, you need to take the ART on a daily basis.

This could be due to not taking the pills on regular basis. The other reason could be resistance to the medicines. Your doctor may like to change your medication or test for resistance to anti-viral medications.