Background: The widespread use of antiretroviral agents and the growing occurrence of HIV-1 strains resistant to these drugs have given rise to serious concerns regarding the transmission of resistant viruses to newly infected persons, which may reduce the efficacy of a first-line antiretroviral therapy. Methodology: RNA was extracted from plasma samples of 98 treatment-naïve individuals with a plasma HIV RNA viral load of at least 1,000 copies/ml. Both protease (pr) and reverse transcriptase (rt) were amplified and sequenced using an automated sequencer. National Agency for AIDS Research (ANRS) and Stanford HIV database algorithms were used for interpretation of resistance data. Results: In the protease segment, various minor mutations were present in the majority of the sequenced samples with high frequencies. Only two major mutations, M46L and V82L, were separately found in three individuals of 71 (4.2%) with one carrying both mutations. In the reverse transcriptase gene, no NNRTIs-associated resistance mutations were detected. Only one patient of 70 (1.4%) carried the F77L mutation that is associated with NRTIs resistance. Genetic subtyping revealed that 74.6% of samples were infected with subtype B, 15.5% with CRF02_AG, 4.2% with CRF01_AE, 1.4% with C, 2.8% with G and 1.4% with subtype F2. Conclusions: The low prevalence of major mutations associated with resistance to antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) among drug-naïve individuals studied suggests that the routine of drug resistance testing may be unnecessary for all Moroccan individuals newly diagnosed or all patients beginning antiretroviral therapy. Nevertheless, continuous surveillance is required since greater access to antiretroviral drugs is expected in Morocco.

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Introduction: Women infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have a higher risk of contracting human papillomavirus (HPV) infections and are more prone to develop cervical cancer. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of HPV and its association with risk factors among Moroccan women living with HIV/AIDS. Methodology: We enrolled 251 HIV-infected non-pregnant women in Morocco from February 2013 to September 2016. Sociodemographic, lifestyles, behavioral and clinical data were collected. Polymerase chain reaction followed by sequencing were performed for molecular detection and HPV genotyping in cervical samples, respectively. Results: Abnormal cervical smears were found in 34/246 patients (13.82%). The overall prevalence of HPV was 74.50%. HPV 58 was the most prevalent (39.29%) followed by HPV 18 (10.71%), HPV 70 (8.93%), HPV 33 (7.14%), HPV 6 (6.25%) and other genotypes (< 3%). Overall, high-risk HPV (HR-HPV) types were present in 75% (84/112) of patients and the prevalence of HR-HPV types in samples with abnormal Pap was higher than in normal Pap (55/83, 66.27% vs. 28/83,33.33%, p < 0.0001). Univariate analyses showed that none of the socio-demographic and behaviors factors was associated with HPV infection. Moreover, Pap results were not affected by HPV status (p = 0.532). Whereas, CD4 T-cell counts above 200/mm 3 at enrolment were apparently not protective to HPV infection. We found a high prevalence of HPV infection and HR-HPV types among HIV-positive women that significantly associated with abnormal Pap. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a high prevalence of HPV infection with high-risk types was observed among HIV-positive women warrant to implement a regular screening by Pap smear.

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