HIV RNA level in early infection is predicted by viral load in the transmission source.
OBJECTIVE
HIV-1 viral load in early infection predicts the risk of subsequent disease progression but the factors responsible for the differences between individuals in viral load during this period have not been fully identified. We sought to determine the relationship between HIV-1 RNA levels in the source partner and recently infected recipient partners within transmission pairs.


METHODS
We recruited donor partners of persons who presented with acute or recent (<6 months) HIV infection. Transmission was confirmed by phylogenetic comparison of virus sequence in the donor and recipient partners. We compared viral load in the donor partner and the recipient in the first 6 months of HIV infection.


RESULTS
We identified 24 transmission pairs. The median estimated time from infection to evaluation in acutely/recently infected recipient individuals was 72 days. The viral load in the donor was closely associated with viral load at presentation in the recipient case (r = 0.55, P = 0.006).


CONCLUSIONS
The strong correlation between HIV-1 RNA levels within HIV transmission pairs indicates that virus characteristics are an important determinant of viral load in early HIV infection.
Hecht
Frederick M
FM
HIV/AIDS Division, Department of Medicine, San Francisco General Hospital, University of California, CA 94110, USA. rhecht@php.ucsf.edu
Hartogensis
Wendy
W
Bragg
Larry
L
Bacchetti
Peter
P
Atchison
Robert
R
Grant
Robert
R
Barbour
Jason
J
Deeks
Steven G
SG
D018791:CD4 Lymphocyte Count; D016358:Contact Tracing; D018450:Disease Progression; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000635:transmission / Q000821:virology*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D019562:Viral Load
D012367:RNA, Viral