Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) keeps HIV fully suppressed. However, if medication doses are repeatedly missed or taken at erratic times, the virus can mutate and develop drug resistance, rendering a specific medication regimen ineffective.
How resistance happens:
1. Sub-optimal Drug Levels: Skipping pills lowers the concentration of medication in your bloodstream.
2. Viral Mutation: The virus takes advantage of low drug levels to replicate and mutate.
3.Treatment Failure: The mutated virus continues reproducing despite taking the original medication.
What to Do If Your Viral Load Spikes
If a routine blood test shows a viral load rising above 200–1,000 copies/mL:
Step 1: Adherence Check: Evaluate whether doses were missed due to schedule changes or side effects.
Step 2: HIV Genotypic Resistance Testing: A specialized blood test that sequences the viral genome to identify specific resistance mutations.
Step 3: Switch to Second-Line Regimen: Based on resistance test results, your doctor constructs a new combination of active drugs (e.g., combining Protease Inhibitors or Integrase Inhibitors) to restore undetectable suppression.
Protect your regimen through strict adherence. Contact HIV Care India for comprehensive viral load monitoring and second-opinion reviews.
How resistance happens:
1. Sub-optimal Drug Levels: Skipping pills lowers the concentration of medication in your bloodstream.
2. Viral Mutation: The virus takes advantage of low drug levels to replicate and mutate.
3.Treatment Failure: The mutated virus continues reproducing despite taking the original medication.
What to Do If Your Viral Load Spikes
If a routine blood test shows a viral load rising above 200–1,000 copies/mL:
Step 1: Adherence Check: Evaluate whether doses were missed due to schedule changes or side effects.
Step 2: HIV Genotypic Resistance Testing: A specialized blood test that sequences the viral genome to identify specific resistance mutations.
Step 3: Switch to Second-Line Regimen: Based on resistance test results, your doctor constructs a new combination of active drugs (e.g., combining Protease Inhibitors or Integrase Inhibitors) to restore undetectable suppression.
Protect your regimen through strict adherence. Contact HIV Care India for comprehensive viral load monitoring and second-opinion reviews.