CD4 White Blood Cells
CD4 cells are the primary target of HIV. A CD4 test quantifies helper T-cells and is often combined with viral load testing to monitor the progression of HIV. CD4 testing shows the strength of the immune system, but does not report viral activity. As established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a person with HIV and a CD4 count below 200 or a CD4 percentage below 14% is considered to have AIDS. An increased CD4 count can result from an immune response to an infection or a recent vaccination. A decreased CD4 count, in combination with higher numbers on a viral load test, indicates an increased risk of getting sick from opportunistic diseases.
Read more about this topic: Viral Load
Famous quotes containing the words white, blood and/or cells:
“... in 1950 a very large slice of the white South stood at the crossroads in its attitude toward its colored citizens and [was] psychologically capable of turning either way.”
—Sarah Patton Boyle, U.S. civil rights activist and author. The Desegregated Heart, part 1, ch. 8 (1962)
“The blood we give the dead to drink
is deeds we do at the will of the dead spirits in us,
not our own live will.”
—Denise Levertov (b. 1923)
“If I’d written all the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people—including me—would be rotting in prison cells from Rio to Seattle today. Absolute truth is a very rare and dangerous commodity in the context of professional journalism.”
—Hunter S. Thompson (b. 1939)