The heterosexual HIV type 1 epidemic in Papua New Guinea is dominated by subtype C.
Papua New Guinea is in the midst of a generalized HIV epidemic. As part of a larger behavioral survey aiming to further characterize the HIV epidemic occurring in PNG, samples were collected from 1175 participants from seven different provinces. Seventy-one (6%) of these samples were HIV-1 positive, and 35 (49%) successfully underwent a double nested RT-PCR that was designed to amplify the C2-V4 region of the HIV-1 envelope. Sequence analysis showed that 33 (94%) samples were subtype C and the remaining 2 (6%) were subtype B. Further phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that there was no province-specific clustering among the samples and that within the global pandemic, PNG subtype C isolates most closely resembled those from East Africa.
The Macfarlane Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 3004. claire.ryan@burnet.edu.au
Claire E
CE
Ryan
Janet
J
Gare
Suzanne M
SM
Crowe
Kim
K
Wilson
John C
JC
Reeder
Robert B
RB
Oelrichs
D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D015752:Genes, env / Q000235:genetics; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D020010:Heterosexuality; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010219:Papua New Guinea / Q000453:epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny
D004279:DNA, Viral