American Journal of Research Communication www.usa-journals.com Immunological response among HIV/AIDS patients before and after ART therapy at Zewuditu Hospital Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Moges Derbe 1 , DP Monga 2 and Deresse Daka 1* * Corresponding author: email: drsdk200@gmail.com 1 Hawassa University College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hawassa Ethiopia 2 Addis Ababa University Faculty of Medicine Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Abstract Background: HIV is isolated in 1983, human immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), the agent that causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), is classified as members of the lentivirus subfamily of retroviruses. Although HAART is known to profoundly suppress viral replication, it increases CD4 cell count and delays disease progression and death; patients on Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART) commonly suffer from side effects of the drug. Each antiretroviral drug is associated with specific adverse effects. Objective: The aim of this retrospective cohort study was to describe immunological response among HIV-infected individuals receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with long-term follow-up. Method: A Cohort retrospective study design was conducted to assess immunological (the CD 4 + recovery) among HIV-infected individuals receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) with long-term follow-up. ART-naive patients with symptomatic HIV disease at baseline (before ART) and after 6 and 9 and 12 months of ART was collected from records. Result: A total of 887 HIV positive patients involved in this research; Out of these 472 (53.2%) were female and 415 (46.8%) male patients. None of them have any opportunistic infection during the time of follow up. The mean age of the study group was 36.76 (17-76). The mean baseline CD4 + count was 81.40; the mean CD4 count at the 6 th , 9 th and 12 th month was 191.65, 284 and 331 respectively. There was a good immune recovery at the 6 th month of therapy from the baseline mean CD 4 + T cell count of 81 cells/l to 191.65 cells /l, which was statistically significant (p<0.0001). This first remarkable rise was continued in the achieving in the mean Derbe, et al., 2013: Vol 1 (1) ajrc.journal@gmail.com 103