A LOW COST AUTOMATED AND RAPID HOME HIV VIRAL LOAD TEST

Approximately million people are living with HIV with million accessing antiretroviral therapy ART Recently revised WHO guidelines recommend that all people diagnosed with HIV be offered ART at any CD count which will result in many more people on ART Current ART regimens are very potent and reduce HIV viral load in blood to undetectable levels in most patients which in turn significantly reduces mortality and morbidity and reduces transmission of HIV However viral rebound can occur through non adherence or resistance In either case it is critical to identify viral rebound as early as possible in order to avoid drug resistance and clinical progression The ability to easily monitor HIV plasma RNA in blood at home would help identify viral rebound early and allow intervention Ideally HIV RNA testing at home should be as easy as glucose monitoring for diabetics If priced appropriately this technology may be useful for home monitoring in resource limited settings where patients live far from the clinical care site Such a technology could also be used for home monitoring of individuals enrolled in clinical trials involving a treatment interruption who need to have their viral load monitored very frequently in home monitoring for individuals using pre exposure prophylaxis PrEP where HIV infection must be detected very early to avoid resistance to the drugs in the PrEP regimen and in home monitoring for high risk individuals to allow early detection and early treatment which may lead to smaller HIV reservoirs and reduced transmission