Persistent Microbial Translocation and Immune Activation in HIV-1-Infected South Africans Receiving Combination Antiretroviral Therapy

Background. Microbial translocation contributes to immune activation and disease progression during chronic human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection. However, its role in the African AIDS epidemic remains controversial. Here, we investigated the relationship between markers of monocyte activation, plasma lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and HIV-1 RNA in South Africans prioritized to receive combination antiretroviral therapy (cART). Methods. Ten HIV-1-negative African controls and 80 HIV-1-infected patients with CD4 T cell counts