title: HIV-1 reverse transcriptase drug-resistance mutations in chronically infected individuals receiving or naïve to HAART in Cameroon.
abstract: The most common first-line, highly active anti-retroviral therapy (HAART) received by individuals infected with HIV-1 in Cameroon is the combination therapy Triomune, comprised of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTI) and one non-NRTI (NNRTI). To examine the efficacy of these drugs in Cameroon, where diverse non-B HIV-1 subtypes and recombinant viruses predominate, the reverse transcriptase (RT) viral sequences in patient plasma were analyzed for the presence of mutations that confer drug resistance. Forty-nine HIV-1-positive individuals were randomly selected from those receiving care in HIV/AIDS outpatient clinics in the South-West and North-West Regions of Cameroon. Among the 28 patients receiving HAART, 39% (11/28) had resistance to NRTIs, and 46% (13/28) to NNRTIs after a median of 12 months from the start of therapy. Among those with drug-resistance mutations, there was a median of 14 months from the start of HAART, versus 9 months for those without; no difference was observed in the average viral load (10,997 copies/ml vs. 8,056 copies/ml). In contrast, drug-naïve individuals had a significantly higher average viral load (27,929 copies/ml) than those receiving HAART (9,527 copies/ml). Strikingly, among the 21 drug-naïve individuals, 24% harbored viruses with drug-resistance mutations, suggesting that HIV-1 drug-resistant variants are being transmitted in Cameroon. Given the high frequency of resistance mutations among those on first-line HAART, coupled with the high prevalence of HIV-1 variants with drug-resistance mutations among drug-naïve individuals, this study emphasizes the need for extensive monitoring of resistance mutations and the introduction of a second-line HAART strategy in Cameroon.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York 10010, USA.
authors.forename: Sherri T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Burda
authors.forename: Ragupathy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Viswanath
authors.forename: Jiangqin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Thompson
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kinge
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anyangwe
authors.forename: Erick T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Tinyami
authors.forename: Bijayesh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Haldar
authors.forename: Rebecca L R
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Jarido
authors.forename: Indira K
authors.initials: IK
authors.lastname: Hewlett
authors.forename: Phillipe N
authors.initials: PN
authors.lastname: Nyambi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active; D002163:Cameroon; D024882:Drug Resistance, Viral; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000821:virology*; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D010949:Plasma / Q000821:virology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D019562:Viral Load
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents; C514824:reverse transcriptase, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase