Erroneously Low or Undetectable Plasma Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 (HIV-1) Ribonucleic Acid Load, Determined by Polymerase Chain Reaction, in West African and American Patients with Non-B Subtype HIV-1 Infection

Abstract

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for plasma human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) ribonucleic acid (RNA) inadequately quantitates virus load for some non-B HIV-1 subtypes because of genetic diversity in the gag region targeted by the PCR primers. Unexpectedly low or undetectable plasma HIV-1 RNA findings by PCR were a clue to non-B HIV-1 infections in patients in whom plasma HIV-1 RNA was found to be substantially higher when determined by a branched-chain deoxyribonucleic acid assay.