High Prevalence of Genetically Similar HIV-1 Recombinants among Infected Sex Workers in Nairobi, Kenya
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Date
2008Author
Land, Allison M
Luo, Ma
Pilon, Richard
Sandstrom, Paul
Embree, Joanne
Wachihi, Charles
Kimani, Joshua
Plummer, Francis A
Ball, T Blake
Language
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
HIV-1, a highly diverse infectious agent, shows the greatest sequence diversity in highly exposed individuals, including greater levels of recombination. HIV-1 diversity in Nairobi, Kenya was examined in 240 individuals, including both those with high and low exposure to HIV. Sequence analysis of a 590 nucleotide proviral region encompassing vpu and part of env revealed that most viruses were clade A1 (70%), while both clade D (9%) and clade C (6%) virus were also observed, as was recombinant virus (15%). Participation in sex work was significantly associated with clade: these subjects had a lower likelihood of infection with clade C virus and a higher likelihood of infection with a recombinant isolate (p = 0.038). Interestingly, most of the recombinants formed distinct groups based on shared recombination breakpoints between common clades (n = 33/37). This study shows the value of continued HIV sequence analysis to examine and monitor viral genetic variability.
Citation
Allison M. Land, Ma Luo, Richard Pilon, Paul Sandstrom, Joanne Embree, Charles Wachihi, Joshua Kimani, Francis A. Plummer, and T. Blake Ball. AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses. November 2008, 24(11): 1455-1460.Publisher
University of Nairobi
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10385]