title: Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) non-B subtypes in foreigners living in Madrid, Spain, and comparison of the performances of the AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR version 1.0 and the new automated version 1.5.
abstract: Plasma specimens collected in 1999 from 32 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected foreigners living in Madrid, Spain, were examined for the presence of non-B subtypes. Furthermore, plasma viremia was quantified using two different AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR tests, version 1.0 and the new upgraded and automated version 1.5 (COBAS). Most patients came from Africa, where they most likely had acquired HIV-1 infection through sexual contact. HIV-1 genetic subtyping was based on the phylogenetic analysis of the protease gene. Twenty-two subtype B, six subtype G, two subtype C, one subtype A, and one D subtype infection were found. Overall, non-B subtypes represented 31.25% of the study population. Irrespective of the HIV-1 variant, viral load values above the detection limit (200 HIV RNA copies/ml) increased from 56.2 to 71.9% for results obtained using MONITOR version 1.0 and COBAS, respectively. Moreover, significant differences in viral load values (>0.5 logs) were recognized in up to 37.5% of samples. In summary, COBAS seemed to be more reliable for testing plasma viral load in HIV-infected immigrants living in Spain, one third of whom carried non-B subtypes.
authors.affiliation: Service of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Carlos III, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Holguín
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Aracil
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barros
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Soriano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000349:Africa / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D016333:HIV Protease / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015995:Prevalence; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D019562:Viral Load; D014766:Viremia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D011933:Reagent Kits, Diagnostic; D016333:HIV Protease