Molecular Epidemiology of HIV-1 Infection among Men who Have Sex with Men in Taiwan in 2012

Abstract

The number of men who have sex with men (MSM) infected with HIV-1 in Taiwan has increased rapidly in the past few years. The goal of this study was to conduct a molecular epidemiological study of HIV-1 infection among MSM in Taiwan to identify risk factors for intervention. Voluntary counseling program and anonymous testing were provided to patrons at 1 gay bar, 7 night clubs and 3 gay saunas in Taipei and New Taipei Cities in 2012. HIV-1 subtypes were determined using gag subtype-specific PCR and phylogenetic analysis by env sequences. Recent HIV-1 infection was determined using LAg-Avidity EIA. In-depth interviews and questionnaires were used to identify risk factors. The prevalence and incidence of HIV-1 among MSM in Taiwan were 4.38% (53/1,208) and 3.29 per 100 person-years, respectively. Of 49 cases genotyped, 48 (97.9%) were infected with subtype B and 1 with CRF01_AE (2%). Phylogenetic analysis of 46 HIV-1 strains showed that 25 (54.4%) subtype B strains formed 9 clusters with each other or with other local strains. The CRF01_AE case clustered with a reference strain from a Thai blood donor with bootstrap value of 99. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that risk factors associated with HIV-1 infection included use of oil-based solution as lubricant (vs. saliva or water-based lubricants, OR= 4.23; p <0.001); exclusively receptive role (vs. insertive role, OR= 9.69; p <0.001); versatile role (vs. insertive role, OR= 6.45; p= 0.003); oral sex (vs. insertive role, OR= 11.93; p= 0.044); times of sexual contact per week (2-3 vs. zero per week, OR= 3.41; p= 0.021); illegal drug use (OR= 4.12; p <0.001); and history of sexually transmitted diseases (OR= 3.65; p= 0.002). In conclusion, there was no new HIV-1 subtype or circulating recombinant form responsible for the increase of HIV-1 among MSM in Taiwan in 2012. Misuse of oil-based solution as lubricant is a new risk factor identified among MSM in Taiwan. The Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control has created a video (www.youtube.com/watch?v=BinExvvOTMM&feature=iv&src_vid=BW81-PfmY3E&annotation_id=annotation_2436493705) to correct such misconception in its AIDS prevention campaign.

Young Men Who Have Sex with Men at High Risk for HIV, Bangkok MSM Cohort Study, Thailand 2006–2014

“…Some Asian countries, such as Thailand and China, reported HIV incidence ranged from 6.7 to 8.8 per 100 PY [9–11]. Studies of YMSM in the United States and Asia find similar epidemiologic risk factors including prevalent and incident sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and use of recreational drugs [3, 4, 9, 12]. Hepatitis B (HBV) and Chlamydia trachomatis (CT) are STIs that spread mainly through sexual contract without a condom and have been shown to increase in risk of HIV acquisition [13, 14].…”

Short Communication: Comparison of Maxim and Sedia Limiting Antigen Assay Performance for Measuring HIV Incidence

“…4 The Limiting Antigen Avidity (LAg-Avidity) assay was developed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as a serologic assay for accurate HIV incidence estimation 5 and is widely used internationally for this purpose. 6,7 LAg-Avidity is currently marketed by two companies, Maxim Biomedical (Bethesda, MD) and Sedia BioSciences Corporation (Portland, OR). However, performance differences between these two assays have not been evaluated.…”

Análisis genético de las mutaciones presentes en las poblaciones virales en pacientes con infección por VIH-1 en Ecuador

“…La relevancia de conocer el subtipo viral es que algunos subtipos han sido relacionados con algunas vías de transmisión; por ejemplo, el subtipo B se asocia con los hombres que tienen sexo con hombres, así como algunas formas recombinantes con el uso de drogas intravenosas 27,28 . Además, se han descrito mutaciones que generan resistencia en algunos subtipos y no en otros (la 30 y la 90 para IP, la 106 para ITRNAN, etc.)…”