Genetic similarity of HIV type 1 subtype E in a recent outbreak among injecting drug users in northern Vietnam to strains in Guangxi Province of southern China.
To investigate the molecular epidemiology of a recent HIV-1 outbreak in northern Vietnam and its relation to the epidemic in surrounding areas, we analyzed 17 HIV-positive blood specimens from 3 heterosexuals, 2 sexually transmitted disease patients, and 12 injecting drug users (IDUs), collected in 4 provinces near Hanoi in 1998. These were compared with the specimens from Ho Chi Minh City (n = 10) and An Giang Province (n = 10) in southern Vietnam and with published sequences from neighboring countries. Genetic subtyping based on the env C2/V3 sequences revealed that HIV-1 subtype E predominated throughout Vietnam in all risk populations; the exception was one typical United States-European-type HIV-1 subtype B detected in a patient in Ho Chi Minh City, the first case of HIV infection identified in Vietnam in 1990. The HIV-1 subtype E sequences identified in 9 of the 12 IDUs from northern provinces were closely related phylogenetically to those in IDUs in nearby Guangxi Province of China, and also shared a common amino acid signature downstream of the env V3 loop region. The low interperson nucleotide diversity among IDUs in northern Vietnam supports the view that HIV-1 subtype E was introduced recently among IDUs in northern Vietnam. These data indicate a linkage between HIV-1 circulating among IDUs in northern Vietnam and southern China, and suggest recent transborder introductions as the likely source of HIV-1 subtype E in northern Vietnam.
Kato
K
K
Laboratory of Molecular Virology and Epidemiology, AIDS Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Disease, Tokyo, Japan.
Shiino
T
T
Kusagawa
S
S
Sato
H
H
Nohtomi
K
K
Shibamura
K
K
Nguyen
T H
TH
Pham
K C
KC
Truong
X L
XL
Mai
H A
HA
Hoang
T L
TL
Bunyaraksyotin
G
G
Fukushima
Y
Y
Honda
M
M
Wasi
C
C
Yamazaki
S
S
Nagai
Y
Y
Takebe
Y
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D005260:Female; D015750:Genes, gag / Q000235:genetics; D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120 / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D015491:HTLV-II Infections / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000150:complications / Q000821:virology*; D014744:Vietnam / Q000453:epidemiology
D015699:HIV Envelope Protein gp120; C059762:HIV envelope protein gp120 (305-321); D010446:Peptide Fragments