Challenges in Antiretroviral Therapy - AIDSvideos.org Phil Johnson, M.D. discusses why it's so important for HIV/AIDS patients to follow their antiretroviral (ARV) medication regimen as prescribed. During active infection, up to 10 billion HIV particles will be created each day. This provides ample chance for the virus to mutate in ways that provide resistance to the medication. By keeping the blood levels of the ARV medication high, that will keep the viral load low and reduce the opportunity for resistance mutations to flourish... Keywords:hiv; aids; ARV; antiretroviral; medication; compliance; adherence; immune; system; progression; resistant; resistance; strain Downloads: 85