Four years after seroconversion, an HIV-infected patient has a CD4+ cell count of 800/µl and a low viral load. The nurse teaches the patient that

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The patient is the early chronic stage of infection, when the body is able to produce enough CD4+ cells to maintain the CD4+ count at a normal level. The risk for opportunistic infection is low because of the normal CD4+ count. Although the viral load in the blood is low, intracellular reproduction of virus still occurs. Anti-HIV antibodies produced by B cells attack the viruses in the blood, but not intracellular viruses.

Four Years After Seroconversion, an HIV-Infected Patient Has a CD4