Continued production of drug-sensitive human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in children on combination antiretroviral therapy who have undetectable viral loads.

ABSTRACT: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) can suppress plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) levels to below the detection limit of ultrasensitive clinical assays. However, HIV-1 persists in cellular reservoirs, and in adults, persistent low-level viremia is detected with more sensitive assays. The nature of this viremia is poorly understood, and it is unclear whether viremia persists in children on HAART, particularly those who start therapy shortly after birth. We therefore developed a reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) assay that allows genotyping of HIV-1 protease even when viremia is present at levels as low as 5 copies of HIV-1 RNA/ml. We demonstrated that viremia persists in children with plasma virus levels below the limit of detection of clinical assays. Viremia wa

SUBMITTER: Persaud D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC368798 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature