The findings were more marked when the analysis was restricted to viraemic subjects with severe fibrosis (n = 55, median follow-up 742 days (333–913 days) using cohort medians of 108.3 and 116.1, respectively); the proportion free of complications at 2 years was 97% and 70% for longer and shorter CD4+CD45RO+ telomeres, respectively (p <0.001) and 86% and 80% for longer and shorter CD8+CD45RO+ telomeres, respectively (p = 0.27). This evidence concerns the gene CD8A and fibrosis.