CD4 count

CD4 count is the number of CD4 T-cells, a type of white blood cell, in the blood.

However, this new study suggests that guidelines should consider risk factors like previous opportunistic illnesses or having had a CD4 count below 200.

On the other hand, there are many people at a high risk for deadly disease—almost half the people diagnosed with HIV in Mexico are at an advanced stage of the infection with a CD4 count of 200 or less—which makes it clear that vaccines and drugs are needed, Crabtree Ramirez says.

About one in three had a CD4 count — a proxy for the immune system’s strength — of less than 50, indicating severe immunosuppression.

Her CD4 count, which measures the strength of the immune system, had fallen to 90, an often fatally low number.