Identification of a new HIV Type 1 circulating recombinant form (CRF38_BF1) in Uruguay.
Recombination has been shown to be an important force in HIV-1 evolution. Recombination contributes to an increase in genetic variation and hinders vaccine design efforts. Several molecular epidemiology studies in South America described the circulation of subtypes B, F, and C as well as several B/F1 recombinants. This study performed by nucleotide sequencing in at least two genes of 89 samples from Uruguay has shown a complex HIV-1 epidemic characterized by the cocirculation of subtype B, and subtype C strains, together with an important group of BF1 recombinant viruses, including isolates similar to CRF12_BF. In addition we identified a new circulating recombinant form, designated CRF38_BF(1), which was dominant in the recombinant virus group.
Ruchansky
Dora
D
Servicio de Virología Molecular, Centro Nacional de Microbiología, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
Casado
Concepción
C
Russi
José C
JC
Arbiza
Juan R
JR
Lopez-Galindez
Cecilio
C