Publications by authors named "Amalia Giron-Callejas"
Article Synopsis
- The prevalence of pretreatment drug resistance (PDR) to certain HIV medications is high in Belize, particularly among those with previous treatment exposure, posing a challenge for effective antiretroviral therapy (ART).
- WHO recommends dolutegravir-based ART regimens for their effectiveness and low resistance risk, which is crucial for reaching UNAIDS' target of 95% viral suppression.
- Recent surveys show that while 79.6% of adults achieved viral suppression on ART, only 50% of children and adolescents did, highlighting the need for better support and adherence to treatment.
The first nationally representative cross-sectional HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) survey was conducted in Uruguay in 2018-2019 among adults diagnosed with HIV and initiating or reinitiating antiretroviral therapy (ART). , , and genes of HIV-1 were sequenced. A total of 206 participants were enrolled in the survey; 63.
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- A study in El Salvador assessed the prevalence of HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) among individuals starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) and those receiving ART for 12 and 48 months.* -
- Findings showed that 27% of new ART users had pretreatment drug resistance, with viral load (VL) suppression rates of 88.8% at 12 months and 80.5% at 48 months.* -
- The results indicate a need for improvements in ART delivery to address the high drug resistance to efavirenz or nevirapine and the low VL suppression rates in the population.*
Objective: We aimed to assess the frequency of tenofovir (TDF) resistance in people failing tenofovir/lamivudine or emtricitabine (XTC)/nonnucleotide reverse-transcriptase inhibitor-based first-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) using data from 15 nationally representative surveys of HIV drug resistance conducted between 2014 and 2018 in Cameroon, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Senegal, Uganda, Vietnam and Zambia.
Methods: Prevalence of nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor resistance among participants with virological nonsuppression (viral load ≥1000 copies/ml) who had received TDF-based ART for 12-24 months (early ART group) and at least 40 months (long-term ART group) was assessed using Sanger sequencing and resistance was interpreted using the Stanford HIVdb algorithm. For each group, we estimated a pooled prevalence using random effect meta-analysis.
Article Synopsis
- Pre-treatment HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) to NNRTIs has increased significantly over the past decade in low and middle-income countries, including Honduras.
- A nationwide survey found that 26.9% of individuals starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) had pre-treatment HIVDR, with a notable prevalence of 25.9% specifically for NNRTIs.
- The findings suggest a need for alternative first-line ART regimens and improved monitoring and support strategies for individuals living with HIV in Honduras.*
Article Synopsis
- A national survey in Nicaragua assessed pretreatment and acquired HIV drug resistance among people starting antiretroviral therapy (ART) and those on ART for different durations.
- Out of 638 participants, 23.4% had pretreatment resistance to any HIV drug, with a higher rate in those previously exposed to antiretrovirals, especially non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTIs).
- The study also found viral load suppression rates of 77.8% for those on ART for around 12 months but lower at 70.3% for those on ART for over 48 months, highlighting challenges in managing HIV resistance and treatment efficacy.
Different explanations exist on how HIV-1 subtype B spread in Central America, but the role of Guatemala, the Central American country with the highest number of people living with the virus, in this scenario is unknown. We investigated the evolutionary history and spatiotemporal dynamics of HIV-1 subtype B in Guatemala. A total of 1,047 HIV-1 subtype B pol sequences, from newly diagnosed ART-naïve, HIV-infected Guatemalan subjects enrolled between 2011 and 2013 were combined with published subtype B sequences from other Central American countries (n = 2,101) and with reference sequences representative of the BPANDEMIC and BCAR lineages from the United States (n = 465), France (n = 344) and the Caribbean (n = 238).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: HIV viral load testing is a key factor to evaluate the accomplishment of the UNAIDS target of 90% of viral suppression among people receiving antiretroviral therapy. Pooled samples are a potentially accurate and economic approach in resource-constrained settings, but efficiency can be negatively affected by high prevalence rates of virological failure.
Objective: Strategies were assessed to increase the relative efficiency of pooled HIV viral load testing in resource-constrained settings.
Hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection is a public health concern worldwide, associated with waterborne outbreaks in developing countries and reported as an emerging zoonotic infection in high-income countries. A recent consensus proposal classified the isolates from human, swine, wild boar, deer, mongoose, rabbit and camel in seven genotypes within the species Orthohepevirus A. In this report a popular HEV RT-qPCR assay was assessed for the detection of the species Orthohepevirus A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe recent expansion of antiretroviral treatment (ART) coverage in middle/low-income countries has been associated with increasing prevalence of HIV pre-ART drug resistance (PDR). We assessed PDR prevalence, patterns, and trends in Guatemala. Blood samples from 1,084 ART-naive individuals, enrolled from October 2010 to December 2013 at the Roosevelt Hospital in Guatemala City, were obtained.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the secondary resistance patterns of HIV-1to Anti-Retroviral Agents drugs (ART) in patients with virological failure in the main HIV care center in Guatemala.
Methods: Using the Stanford HIV Database,HIV pol sequences were analyzed to obtain resistance patterns in patients with first-failure to ART or multiple-failures (2 or more regimens failed), from 2008 to 2012. Proportions and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) were calculated.