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10th Anniversary Conference Of The British HIV Association [BHIVA]15 – 17 April 2004, City Hall, Cardiff, UK |
[AUTHOR(S):] A Mears1, J Mullen2, S O'Shea1, I Cormack1, V Magaya1, S Costelloe1, I Chrystie2, A de Ruiter1 1
1Guy's and St Thomas's NHS Trust, 2 Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine, London, UK
BHIVA Conf 2004 Apr 15-17;10:O10
BACKGROUND: The viral load (VL) and antiretroviral drug resistance in plasma may not reflect HIV-1 activity in the female genital tract (FGT), which is important both for perinatal and heterosexual transmission. A comparative evaluation of HIV-1 activity in the blood and FGT was conducted to characterise HIV-1 and determine whether virus from these two compartments represent distinct populations.
METHODS: Paired blood and cervicovaginal secretions (CVS) were collected from 41 HIV-1 infected pregnant (n=26), and non-pregnant (n=15) women using Sno-strips.
RESULTS: 94% had a higher VL in plasma (median 4.2 log10 HIV-1 RNA copies/ml; range <1.7–5.8 log10) compared to CVS (median 3.5 log10 copies/ml; range <2.9–4.7 log10). Sixteen women had sufficient FGT VL (>1000 copies/ml) for pol gene sequence analysis, and sequence data from paired samples were obtained from 13. Phylogenetic analysis indicated genetic diversity between virus present in the blood and FGT of all 13. Antiretroviral resistance was demonstrated in three women (23%); two had concordant and one discordant resistance mutations in the blood and FGT.
CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate genetic diversity between viral populations in the blood and FGT. Selection of drug-resistant variants in the blood and FGT can differ, which could impact on postexposure prophylaxis following perinatal and sexual exposure.
PRESENTING AUTHOR: A Mears
040415
O10
Copyright © 2004 - British HIV Association (BHIVA) Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the BHIVA Organising Secretariat 1 Mountview Court, 310 Friern Barnet Lane, London N20 0LD