CD4 count/HIV; Someone has CD4 count of about 800 and she is said to be HIV positive. How?
Heard that positive is supposed to be 500 or below.
Heard that positive is supposed to be 500 or below.
Bob B
Favorite Answer
Those are two completely different things:
Being HIV positive simply means that you have the HIV virus in your system. This is confirmed by testing for signs of the virus itself- usually tests are done for antibodies to the virus, sometimes for parts of the virus itself.
The CD4 count is a measurement of how badly HIV has affected the immune system. If the CD4 count gets too low, the body becomes unable to fight off infections, which causes serious problems.
You can, however, be HIV positive (have the virus in you) and still have a normal CD4 count- it takes years for the virus to destroy the immune system.
lolit
get second opinion for a clearer view .