Molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Iceland: Early introductions, transmission dynamics and recent outbreaks among injection drug users

Abstract

Abstract:The molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Iceland has not been described so far. Detailed analyses of the dynamics of HIV-1 can give insights for prevention of virus spread. The objective of the current study was to characterize the genetic diversity and transmission dynamics of HIV-1 in Iceland. Partial HIV-1 pol (1020 bp) sequences were generated from

Decreasing prevalence of transmitted drug resistance among ART-naive HIV-1-infected patients in Iceland, 1996–2012

“…The domestic nature of the TDR cluster was confirmed previously using phylogenetic analysis with similar reference GenBank sequences obtained through BLAST. [3] The likely explanation for the spread of such mutants is the suboptimal AZT-based therapy during late 1980s and early 1990s, in contrast to the later shift towards tenofovir-based combination regimens. [32,33] This observation of domestic spread of TDR highlights the need for continued surveillance to guide the management of HIV-1 infected patients and to limit the spread of such mutant variants.…”

“…HIV-1 subtype/circulating recombinant form (CRF) data were obtained from a previous work that included our study population. [3] The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients newly diagnosed with HIV-1 infection; (2) plasma samples drawn within six months of diagnosis. The exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) known exposure to ART based on medical records or self-reporting; (2) previous diagnosis of HIV-1 infection outside Iceland.…”

“…The details of the sequencing approach were described previously. [3] The 106 partial pol sequences (1020 base pairs; nucleotide positions 2268–3287 of HXB2, GenBank accession number K03455) were analysed using the calibrated population resistance (CPR) tool in the Stanford University HIV drug resistance database (http://cpr.stanford.edu/cpr.cgi). [16] The 2009 Stanford Surveillance Drug Resistance Mutation list include the following codon sites in the protease region: 23, 24, 30, 32, 46, 47, 48, 50, 53, 54, 73, 76, 82, 83, 84, 85, 88, 90, and the following codon sites in the reverse transcriptase region: 41, 65, 67, 69, 70, 74, 75, 77, 100, 101, 103, 106, 115, 116, 151, 179, 181, 184, 188, 190, 210, 215, 219, 225, 230.…”

“…[1,2] Following the first introduction of HIV-1 to Iceland onwards to the end of 2012, the infection has been dominated by clade B with a relatively low fraction of founders compared to the total number of introductions. [3] HIV-1 infection in the country appeared to be highly concentrated among men who have sex with men (MSM) and injection drug users (IDUs) and less among heterosexuals (HET). The genetic diversity of HIV-1 in Iceland has increased significantly over time, most likely related to the increased proportion of foreign-born residents in the country from the mid-1990s.…”

“…The genetic diversity of HIV-1 in Iceland has increased significantly over time, most likely related to the increased proportion of foreign-born residents in the country from the mid-1990s. [3,4]…”