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Molecular Diversity of HIV in Albania

2005; Oxford University Press; Volume: 192; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1086/431599

1537-6613

Massimo Ciccozzi, Caterina Gori, Stefano Boros, Maria Josefina Ruiz Alvarez, Arjan Harxhi, Marjeta Dervishi, Shpëtim Qyra, Nicola Schinaia, Roberta D’Arrigo, Francesca Ceccherini‐Silberstein, Silva Bino, Carlo Federico Perno, Giovanni Rezza,

HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions

Little information is available on circulating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) subtypes and resistance to antiretroviral drugs in Albania. To fill this gap, we studied 72 plasma samples from HIV-infected individuals from throughout the country. Subtype classification and genotypic resistance analysis were performed on the HIV pol gene region. The analysis was successfully performed on 66 (91.6%) plasma samples and showed that 43 (65.2%) strains were non-B subtypes (mostly subtype A, as determined by analysis of pol gene sequences). No major mutations in the protease gene were found, whereas analysis of the reverse transcriptase gene revealed a few major mutations associated with resistance. In conclusion, non-B subtypes are predominant in Albania, and the prevalence of resistance to antiretroviral drugs is still low.