Viral load, also known as viral burden or viral titer, is a measure of the severity of a viral infection, and can be calculated by estimating the amount of virus in an involved body fluid. For example, it can be given in RNA copies per milliliter of blood plasma. Tracking viral load is used to monitor therapy during chronic viral infections, and in immunocompromised patients such as those recovering from bone marrow or solid organ transplantation. Currently, routine testing is available for HIV-1, cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus.
Read more about Viral Load: Technologies For Viral Load Testing, Contagiousness, Other Factors That Affect Viral Load, CD4 White Blood Cells
Famous quotes containing the word load:
“Men so noble,
However faulty, yet should find respect
For what they have been. ‘Tis a cruelty
To load a falling man.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)