Molecular Epidemiology of HIV Type 1 in Newly Diagnosed Patients in Southern Spain

Abstract

The prevalence of different HIV-1 subtypes in Spain varies by geographic region. In the present study isolates were collected from 72 newly diagnosed individuals in western Andalucia from 2004 to 2006. Viral sequences were amplified and the subtype diversity and prevalence of resistance mutations in the reverse transcriptase and protease genes were determined. The results presented here demonstrate that subtype B virus predominates in this region (88.9%), with the non-B subtypes CRF02_AG (9.7%) and B/G (1.4%) also present. Only two isolates (2.9%) carried resistance mutations in the reverse transcriptase gene and none of the isolates had major resistance mutations in the protease gene. Minor mutations in the protease gene were more prevalent with 86.1% of isolates containing at least one minor mutation. These results elucidate the subtype diversity present in this region and suggest that the transmission of highly resistant virus variants does not occur at a high frequency in this population.

Most HIV Type 1 Non-B Infections in the Spanish Cohort of Antiretroviral Treatment-Naïve HIV-Infected Patients (CoRIS) Are Due to Recombinant Viruses

“…The results presented confirmed that subtype B is still the main HIV-1 variant in Spain, as reported previously for the same sample of subjects from CoRIS (16), and are concordant with data from other Spanish studies (23,31,34). What our study adds is the finding that 8.8% of the 670 CoRIS patients (14% of the 164 patients assessed in 2008) were infected with HIV-1 recombinant variants (CRFs and URFs) and the description of the genetic nature of the complex recombinants.…”

“…The highest prevalence of recombinants was found in patients from sub-Saharan Africa, followed by Eastern Europeans. As previously reported in the initial CoRIS description (16) and in other studies (23,24,31,34), recombinant CRF02_AG was the most frequently found HIV-1 non-B variant in our country, accounting for more than one-third of HIV-1 non-B infections. This is due to the high prevalence of this recombinant in Central and West Africa, the most common origin of infected sub-Saharan Africans residing in Spain.…”

Epidemiological trends of HIV‐1 infection in blood donors from Catalonia, Spain (2005‐2014)

“…The prevalence of the different HIV‐1 subtypes in Spain varies geographically. Although our results are similar to those reported in Madrid (18% of newly diagnosed HIV‐1–positive patients were infected with non‐B subtypes), they are not concordant with data from other Spanish regions (11% in southern Spain and 36% in northwestern Spain) . With regard to the situation in the overall European population, Abecasis and colleagues found that 33.9% of patients with newly diagnosed HIV‐1 in Europe during 2003 and 2005 presented with HIV‐1 non‐B subtypes.…”

“…Although our results are similar to those reported in Madrid (18% of newly diagnosed HIV-1-positive patients were infected with non-B subtypes), 28 they are not concordant with data from other Spanish regions (11% in southern Spain and 36% in northwestern Spain). 9,29 With compartmentalized epidemics determined by the social and behavioral characteristics of the affected individuals. 8 In the United States, the reported rate of HIV non-B subtypes in blood donors is only 2.5%.…”

Molecular Surveillance of HIV-1 in Madrid, Spain: a Phylogeographic Analysis

“…Despite the recent increase in immigration rates, the incidence of non-B variants circulating in Madrid (ϳ9%) during the period 2005 to 2007 has not increased in comparison with previously published data (32). Nevertheless, our phylogeographic analysis has revealed a very complex epidemiological scenario in all the subtypes studied in detail.…”