Genetic subtypes of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) in Istanbul, Turkey.
BACKGROUND
Epidemiological surveillance of HIV-1 subtypes is an important and ongoing element of preparation for global antiviral interventions.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Istanbul, Turkey.


METHODS
27 HIV/AIDS patients were investigated. Data on age, sex, country of birth, and HIV acquisition route were collected. Following amplification with PCR the sequences of the gp41 region of the env gene were determined using a 310 DNA sequencer (ABI prism, Foster City, USA) and phylogenetically analyzed.


RESULTS
Among the 27 patients (26 adults and 1 infant), 22 were male, born in Turkey, and 20 infected through heterosexual contact. Two patients acquired the virus through blood and/or blood transfusion and one infant by vertical transmission. The distribution of the subtypes was as follows: four were subtype A, 19 subtype B, one subtype C, one subtype D, and two subtype F1. According to our results, although the B subtype is still predominant, non-B subtypes are also present, even though the number of registered HIV/AIDS patients is low.


CONCLUSIONS
These are the first subtyped HIV-1 strains in Turkey where a low level of HIV prevalence has been observed since the first reported case in 1985. These findings and Turkey's specific geographic localization indicate the need for a nationwide surveillance to detect all subtypes including the new recombinant ones.
Yilmaz
Gülden
G
Department of Microbiology and Clinical Microbiology, Cerrahpasa Faculty of Medicine, Istanbul University, Istanbul 34303, Turkey. yilmazgu@istanbul.edu.tr
Midilli
Kenan
K
Türkoğlu
Salih
S
Bayraktaroğlu
Zübeyir
Z
Kuşkucu
A Mert
AM
Ozkan
Emine
E
Atasever
Leman
L
Calangu
Semra
S
Altaş
Kemal
K
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014421:Turkey / Q000453:epidemiology