Plasma and cervical viral loads among Ugandan and Zimbabwean women during acute and early HIV-1 infection.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

High levels of HIV-1 viremia exist in peripheral blood during acute and early infection; however, data on HIV-1 viral loads in female genital secretions during this period are sparse.

Design

Prospective cohort of 188 African women with primary HIV-1 infection.

Methods

HIV-uninfected and infected women were followed quarterly; we tested serial plasma specimens by HIV PCR to estimate infection dates. We used the Loess procedure to estimate the magnitude and timing of viral setpoints in plasma and cervical secretions and generalized estimating equations (GEE) to identify predictors of plasma and cervical viral setpoints.

Results

We estimated the mean HIV-1 plasma setpoint to be 4.20 log10 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml [95% confidence interval (CI) 4.04-4.35] at 1

SUBMITTER: Morrison CS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3148071 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature