Twelve-Month Antiretroviral Therapy Suppresses Plasma and Genital Viral Loads but Fails to Alter Genital Levels of Cytokines in a Cohort of HIV-Infected Rwandan Women

摘要

BackgroundGenital viral load (GVL) is the main determinant of sexual transmission of human immune-deficiency virus (HIV). The effect of antiretroviral therapy (ART) on local cervico-vaginal immunological factors associated with GVL is poorly described. We aimed to identify the risk factors of detectable GVL, and the impact of ART on HIV genital shedding and its correlates in a cohort of HIV-infected women, attending HIV care in Kigali, Rwanda.