Waters Laura, Mandalia S, Asboe David
Department of Genitourinary and HIV Medicine, St Stephens Centre, Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London, UK.
AIDS. 2006 Mar 21;20(5):778-9. doi: 10.1097/01.aids.0000216381.37679.69.
Traditionally an HIV viral load of over 1000 copies/ml was presumed necessary for genotypic resistance testing. We performed a retrospective analysis to assess rates of viral amplification on viral loads between 50 and 1000 copies/ml. Amplification was significantly more likely for 200-1000 copies/ml than 50-200 copies/ml; most samples amplified successfully, supporting the use of genotyping for low-level viraemia.