Frequency of transmitted drug resistance mutations among treatment-naïve HIV-1-infected individuals at a tertiary care centre in South India.

Abstract

Morbidity and mortality among HIV-1-infected individuals has been dramatically reduced by the implementation of combinational antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the efficiency of these therapies is compromised due to HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs). We collected a total of 127 samples from ART-naïve HIV-infected individuals and sequenced the pol gene and analysed for drug resistance mutations using the Calibrated Population Resistance (CPR) tool in the Stanford database. All the 127 clinical samples (100%) were identified as HIV-1 subtype C. Based on the CPR tool, three strains (2.4%) had TDRMs, and these were K101E, Y181C and G190A. Our findings correlated well with the WHO surveys conducted in Asia, including India, which consistently reported<5% TDRM among the specific populations assessed. In countries like India, regular monitoring of TDRMs will provide better information for clinical practice improvement and policy making.