Viral load
Viral Load
Viral load, also known as viral burden, is a numerical expression of the quantity of virus in a given volume. It is often expressed as viral particles, or infectious particles per mL depending on the context. The term is often used in reference to HIV, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and other viral infections.
Pronunciation
- Viral: /ˈvʌɪrəl/
- Load: /loʊd/
Etymology
The term "viral load" is a combination of the words "viral", derived from "virus", and "load", meaning a heavy or burdensome quantity. The term "virus" comes from the Latin virus meaning poison or venom.
Related Terms
- Virus: A small infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism.
- HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus, a virus that attacks the body's immune system.
- Hepatitis B: A serious liver infection caused by the Hepatitis B virus.
- Hepatitis C: An infection caused by a virus that attacks the liver and leads to inflammation.
- PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction, a method widely used to rapidly make millions to billions of copies of a specific DNA sample.
- Antiretroviral Therapy: Treatment for HIV infection that uses a combination of several antiretroviral medicines to stop the virus from replicating.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Viral load
- Wikipedia's article - Viral load
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski