Abstract

Previous studies of molecular epidemiology for HIV-1 have shown that the genetic diversity of circulating recombinant forms of the virus evolves over time, being influenced by the virus's high capacity for replication and genetic recombination, as well as by population mobility, which is responsible for the spread of new variants in different countries. The aim of this study is to describe HIV-1 variants in Côte d'Ivoire by using sequencing of tree targets; reverse transcriptase, protease and integrase genes of 139 isolates. Participants were recruited in six care centers in Abidjan. Subtypes and recombinant forms were generated using HIVGRAD software (https://www.hiv-grade.de/cms/grade/). Phylogenetic analyses were carried out by the program (https://www.hiv.Lanl.gov/content/sequence/ HIV/HIVTools.html). The results showed that CRF02_AG is the majority variant, with a frequency of 84% (61/73), followed by subtypes A, A1 and G, which represented 3% (2/73), 1% (1/73) and 1% (1/73) respectively. 7% (5/73) of the viruses have complex genetic profiles: CRF01_AE/CRF02_AG/A1 (1%); CRF01_AE/A/A1 (1%); CRF01_AE/K (1%); CRF02_AG/A1 (1%); CRF02_AG/F2 (1%) and 4% of strains are unidentified. Although CRF02_AG was the majority variant in the circulating strains, this study revealed a high proportion of complex recombinant forms (7%) and unidentified strains (4%) compared with the results of the study conducted in 2019. The identification of complex strains and unidentified isolates highlights the need to identify HIV-1 subtypes based on whole viral genomes.

Key words: HIV-1, diversity, complex recombinants, variants, Côte d’Ivoire.