Ethnicity and discordance in plasma HIV-1 RNA viral load and CD4+ lymphocyte count in a cohort of HIV-1-infected individuals.

Background: Guidelines for commencing therapy for HIV infection have been based upon HIV-1 RNA and CD4 lymphocyte thresholds. The influence of confounding factors such as gender, ethnicity and co-infections is unproven.

Objectives: To analyse ethnic discordance in plasma HIV-1 viral load (VL) and CD4+ count and its potential clinical significance in Black and Caucasian groups.