Auteurs : Djoko CF, Rimoin AW, Vidal N, Tamoufe U, Wolfe ND, Butel C, LeBreton M, Tshala FM, Kayembe PK, Muyembe JJ, Edidi-Basepeo S, Pike BL, Fair JN, Mbacham WF, Saylors KE, Mpoudi-Ngole E, Delaporte E, Grillo M, Peeters M
Global Viral Forecasting Initiative, San Francisco, California, USA
AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses. 2011 Mar;27(3):323-9. doi: 10.1089/aid.2010.0201. Epub 2010 Oct 18
For the first time the genetic diversity among the uniformed personnel in Kinshasa, the capital city of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country that has experienced military conflicts since 1998 and in which the global HIV-1/M pandemic started, has now been documented. A total of 94 HIV-1-positive samples, collected in 2007 in Kinshasa garrison settings from informed consenting volunteers, were genetically characterized in the pol region (protease and RT). An extensive diversity was observed, with 51% of the strains corresponding to six pure subtypes (A 23%, C 13.8%, D, G, H, J, and untypable), 15% corresponding to nine different CRFs (01, 02, 11, 13, 25, 26, 37, 43, and 45), and 34% being unique recombinants with one-third being complex mosaic viruses involving three or more different subtypes/CRFs. Only one strain harbored a single mutation, I54V, associated with drug resistance to protease inhibitors. Due to their high mobility and potential risk behavior, HIV infections in military personnel can lead to an even more complex epidemic in the DRC and to a possible increase of subtype C. PMID: 20954909 [PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3048816 Free PMC Article