Detection of a Rare HIV Type 1 Strain CRF16_A2D in Bangladesh

Abstract

Circulating recombinant form (CRF) 16_A2D is a rare HIV strain among the most recently identified subsubtype A2. Samples taken from an HIV-seropositive married couple who attended a voluntary counseling and testing unit in Dhaka, Bangladesh showed two rare CRF16_A2D isolates. Further genetic analyses targeting three HIV genes (gag, pol, and env) showed that the two isolates from the couple were closely related making it likely that one of them acquired the virus and transferred it to the other. The husband admitted that he had contact with sex workers and both wife and husband had never traveled outside the country. This indicates that the husband might have acquired the virus from sex workers and that this rare strain is already circulating in the country. Detecting unusual isolates is important to determine the true diversity of HIV strains in the country. Monitoring of such strains will help in identifying transmission patterns and possible interventions to prevent the spread of HIV infection.

HIV-1 drug resistance and genotypes circulating among HIV-positive key populations in Bangladesh: 2016 update

“…A previous study based on partial gag sequence (proviral) showed that HIV strains identified in Bangladesh exhibited an extraordinary degree of genetic diversity but subtype-C was identified as predominant and mainly circulates within PWID, which might have been imported from India (Sarker et al, 2008). Other circulating recombinant forms (CRF) and pure subtypes such as A1, B, D, and G were also detected among KPs, which were genetically related to strains from countries such as India, Myanmar, China, Africa, and Middle East (Bontell et al, 2013;Sarker et al, 2011;Sarker et al, 2008). As the surrounding HIV-1 epidemic in India and China differs significantly (Takebe et al, 2010), understanding the current epidemic by analyzing circulating HIV genotypes in KPs, particularly PWID, is very important.…”