Summary

Your CD4 cell count gives an impression of the health of your immune system.
Monitoring your CD4 cell count can help you and your doctor decide when you need to start HIV treatment.
Viral load is the term used to describe the amount of HIV in your blood.
CD4 cell counts and viral load can vary naturally - you and your doctor should look at trends, not single results.
The aim of HIV treatment is a viral load which is so low that it cannot be detected by currently available tests (‘undetectable’).
Having a low viral load decreases the risk of passing HIV on to your baby during pregnancy and childbirth, and decreases the risk of HIV transmission to your sexual partner(s).
Your HIV clinic will perform blood tests regularly to monitor your CD4 count, your viral load and other indicators of your health.
If you or your doctor are concerned about particular test results, or if you are experiencing symptoms or side-effects, you may have other blood tests, scans or investigations done. These will provide more information to help guide decisions about your health and treatment.
Your doctor and the person performing the tests should explain these to you, and you should be able to ask any questions you have before they begin.

CD4, viral load & other tests