Predominance of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Subtype B in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Abstract

We analyzed the genetic variability and phylogenetic relationships among 28 HIV-2 strains collected from patients enrolled in an HIV epidemiologic study in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, during 1995-1996. Although both subtype A (n = 8; 29%) and subtype B (n = 20; 71%) were present in this sampling, the majority of infections were caused by subtype B viruses. These findings contrasted with the reported predominance of HIV-2 subtype A in other African countries. The broad genetic diversity identified among protease gene sequences for HIV-2 subtype A (6%; range 3-15%) and subtype B (7%; range, 2-12%), and their presence in Abidjan during the 1980s, document a long coexistence of two viral subtypes in Ivory Coast. Our data indicate that viruses of subtypes A and B have contributed to the HIV-2 epidemic in Ivory Coast.

Detection of Simian Immunodeficiency Virus in Diverse Species and of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 by Using Consensus Primers within the pol Region

“…Analysis of primary PBMC from 10 HIV-2-infected individuals revealed that DNA of those from 8 was amplified by using these primers (Table 2), giving an amplification efficiency of 80%. These results are comparable to those for the primers identified in the protease region, which are highly specific for HIV-2 detection only (26).…”

Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection in Free-Ranging Sooty Mangabeys ( Cercocebus atys atys ) from the Taï Forest, Côte d'Ivoire: Implications for the Origin of Epidemic Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2

“…This is not surprising for HIV-2 group B, since the great majority of group B infections have been identified in Côte d'Ivoire and neighboring countries to the east (34,54). By contrast, HIV-2 group A is prevalent throughout west Africa (17,23,51).…”

“…In the case of HIV-1, infections with groups N and O have been largely confined to Gabon and Cameroon (4,5,42), while group M has spread pandemically (51,52). In the case of HIV-2, groups A and B have infected substantial numbers of people in west Africa (17,23,34,54,79), while groups C to H have each been identified only in single individuals (14,18,22,76). Circumstances that favored cross-species transmission and subsequent amplification of only a subset of these viruses are unknown but have implications for potential future SIV transmissions.…”

Polymorphism of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 (HIV-2) Protease Gene and Selection of Drug Resistance Mutations in HIV-2-Infected Patients Treated with Protease Inhibitors

“…PR gene sequencing was performed retrospectively on available plasma specimens collected between 1994 and 2001 and stored at Ϫ80°C. HIV-2 RNA was extracted from 1 ml of plasma, and the PR gene was amplified from 10 l of RNA and sequenced as previously described (18). Sequence alignments were performed with Sequence Navigator software, and sequences were compared to HIV-2 clade A and B consensus sequences (Los Alamos database: http://hiv-lanl.gov) (15).…”