Simple Steps to Free HIV Subtype Testing and Appropriate Viral Load Tests

1. A patient is eligible for an HIV subtype test if she is an HIV+ immigrant from Africa, Asia or Latin America or is HIV+ and has been infected by someone from Africa, Asia or Latin America.

2. To arrange an HIV subtype test, please call African Services Committee at (212) 222-3882 and ask for Neil Sachs (ext 123), Rusha Pearson (ext 120) or Lassanna Kouyate (ext 124). We provide subtype testing, medical interpretation and counseling about HIV and HIV subtypes.

• Blood specimens are drawn by medical doctors from the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center (ADARC) and are fully sequenced for subtype at ADARC.
• A patient who comes in for a subtype test will receive two $17 Metrocards-1 after the blood draw and 1 when she comes to pick up her results.
• African Services will contact each patient's doctor about the results.
  

3. If the patient is diagnosed with an HIV-1 non-B subtype, request the Bayer bDNA viral load test or Organon Teknika NASBA viral load test to accurately quantify HIV-1 non-B viral loads. The standard  viral load assay, Roche RT-PCR, does not accurately quantify HIV-1 non-B subtypes. This may result in an incongruous lab result (i.e. low CD4 count and low viral load level). HIV-2 viral load cannot be quantified by any of the commercially available assays, and will thus (falsely) report as undetectable. African Services Committee will help you identify where to get the appropriate viral load test.

If you have any questions about any of these steps, please call African Services Committee at (212) 222-3882 and ask for Martha Kahirimbanyi (ext 125) or Erika Brutsaert (ext 120).