Incidence of low-level viraemia among HIV/AIDS patients with antiviral therapy in Yunnan province, 2004 – 2018: a retrospective analysis

ObjectiveTo examine general situation and change trend of low-level viraemia (LLV) among human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) patients under antiviral therapy (ART) in Yunnan province and to provide evidences to further relevant studies.MethodsFrom the Data and Information Management System for Integrated HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, we extracted demographical, clinical and viral load (VL) detection data on all HIV/AIDS patients receiving ART at the age of more than 15 years in Yunnan province during the period from 2004 through 2018. The incidence of LLV among the HIV/AIDS patients with different ART regimens was analyzed statistically.ResultsOf the 93 944 HIV/AIDS patients included in the study, 21 203 (22.6%) were detected with LLV. Among the patients with LLV, 25% were detected with LLV at least two times; the most detected LLV level was 51 – 199 copies/mL, followed by 400 – 999 and 200 – 399 copies/mL; the once