Conditional on baseline CD4 level and the time elapsed from seroconversion to treatment, higher VL at treatment initiation was associated with substantially better post‐treatment recovery in CD4 counts (Fig. 2a; illustrative comparisons at 3 years on cART for patient with a CD4 cell count of 350 cells/μL at initiation: 690 cells/μL for log10(VL) = 5.7 vs. 620 cells/μL for log10(VL) = 4.7); this provides evidence that, for a given baseline CD4 level, baseline VL is positively linked to CD4 recovery following cART initiation independent of the time since infection. The gene discussed is CD4; the disease is infection.