Low-cost assays for monitoring HIV infected individuals in resource-limited settings.
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Date
2011-12
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Abstract
Use of a combination of CD4 counts and HIV viral load testing in the management of antiretroviral therapy
(ART) provides higher prognostic estimation of the risk of disease progression than does the use of either
test alone. The standard methods to monitor HIV infection are flow cytometry based for CD4+ T cell
count and molecular assays to quantify plasma viral load of HIV. Commercial assays have been routinely
used in developed countries to monitor ART. However, these assays require expensive equipment and
reagents, well trained operators, and established laboratory infrastructure. These requirements restrict
their use in resource-limited settings where people are most afflicted with the HIV-1 epidemic. With the
advent of low-cost and/or low-tech alternatives, the possibility of implementing CD4 count and viral load
testing in the management of ART in resource-limited settings is increasing. However, an appropriate
validation should have been done before putting them to use for patient testing.
Description
Keywords
CD4 count, HIV monitoring, low-cost assays, plasma viral load, resource-limited settings
Citation
Balakrishnan Pachamuthu, Iqbal Hussain Syed, Shanmugham Saravanan, Mohanakrishnan Janardhanan, Solomon Sunil S, Mayer Kenneth H, Solomon Suniti. Low-cost assays for monitoring HIV infected individuals in resource-limited settings. Indian Journal of Medical Research. 2011 Dec; 134(6): 823-834.