HIV Suppression in 2014: Improved but Still Not Optimal

Although achieving viral suppression is important in the HIV care continuum, maintaining suppression is even more important to achieve optimal outcomes and to reduce transmission measurably. Using the National HIV Surveillance System through June 2016 from 33 jurisdictions with complete reporting, CDC investigators sought to clarify how well a single measure of viral load correlates with long-term suppression.

Among 630,965 persons diagnosed with HIV infection through 2013 and known to be alive in 2014, 57.3% had an HIV-1 viral load <200 copies/mL in their most recent test, and 47.6% had durable viral suppression (a viral load <200 copies/mL in all their tests that year). Women, blacks/African-Americans, younger persons, and those with HIV i…