Viral load (VL) quantification is considered an integral part of the standard care in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected individuals but in Nigeria as in most of sub-SaharanAfrica, this has not reached themajority of patients. We report the first field application of the NucliSens EasyQ HIV-1 platform for the real time quantification of HIV-1 VL combining NASBAamplification and real time detection with molecular beacons among HIV-1 infected individuals in north central Nigeria where the predominant HIV-1 subtypes are CRF02_AGandG.CD4 countswere enumerated using a fluorescence-activated cell sorter system. Of one hundred and forty nine (n=149) plasma sample from patients with mean age of 32 years andmade up of 77males and 72 females, fifty {n = 50 (37.9%); 28males and 22 females}hadVLs below the lower detection limit (LDL=25 IU/ml) set by the assay while eighty- two {n = 82 (62.1%); 39 males and 43 females}hadVLlevels above the LDL. Furthermore, 13 of 82 (15.9%) patientswith viral loads above the LDL had VLs between 26-1000 IU/ml while 69 (84.1%) had VLs of 1001-2400000 IU/ml. 17 (11.4%) of the samples could not be analyzed due to poor viral amplification. Among individuals with both CD4 and VL results (n=56), those with CD4 of 1-418 cell/μl presented with higher VL usually above 45,000 IU/ml when comparedwith thosewithCD4 of over 500 cell/μl. Our findings highlight the pattern, usefulness and feasibility of VL quantification by NucliSens EasyQinmonitoringHIV-1 patients inNigeria.Keywords: HIV-1,Viral load quantitation,Nigeri
