title: Transmission network of an HIV type 1 strain with K103N in young Belgian patients from different risk groups.
abstract: Transmitted drug resistance (TDR) influencing nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) activity is increasing among new HIV-1 patients in several countries. As we recently observed an increase of K103N prevalence among new diagnoses in Belgium, we mined the Belgian national sequence database for homologous sequences. The earliest reverse transcriptase (RT) sequences available for drug-naive patients as well as sequences related to treatment failure were included. Fifty-five sequences were aligned and subjected to phylogenetic analysis, revealing the presence of a cluster of 29 virus sequences. All except one of those sequences were from antiretroviral (ARV)-naive patients at the time of sampling, and 22 had the K103N mutation. Epidemiological data of clustered patients were collected through the Institute of Public Health. Seventy-two percent of the clustered patients were infected through homosexual or bisexual contacts while the others reported heterosexual contacts only. All patients reside and were infected in Belgium. Sixteen were diagnosed between January 2011 and June 2012; 14 were aged between 18 and 29 years at the time of diagnosis. Nearly 60% of the clustered patients live close to the city of Namur, where HIV incidence substantially increased in the past 2 years. The identification of this transmission network advocates for local prevention reinforcement and underscores the need for continuous TDR monitoring. The spread of NNRTI TDR could affect ARV initiation schemes and prophylaxis strategies.
authors.affiliation: 1 Université Catholique de Louvain , AIDS Reference Laboratory, IREC, Brussels, Belgium .
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ruelle
authors.forename: Marie-Gabrielle
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Ingels
authors.forename: Karima
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jnaoui
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ausselet
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Vincent
authors.forename: André
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sasse
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Verhofstede
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Goubau
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001530:Belgium / Q000453:epidemiology; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology*; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000235:genetics*; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D050505:Mutant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D020125:Mutation, Missense; D010802:Phylogeny; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050505:Mutant Proteins; C514824:reverse transcriptase, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase