Trends and correlates of HIV-1 resistance among subjects failing an antiretroviral treatment over the 2003-2012 decade in Italy.

Background: Despite a substantial reduction in virological failures following introduction of new potent antiretroviral therapies in the latest years, drug resistance remains a limitation for the control of HIV-1 infection. We evaluated trends and correlates of resistance in treatment failing patients in a comprehensive database over a time period of relevant changes in prescription attitudes and treatment guidelines.

Methods: We analyzed 6,796 HIV-1 pol sequences from 49 centres stored in the Italian ARCA database during the 2003-2012 period.

Identification of a new HIV-1 BC circulating recombinant form (CRF60_BC) in Italian young men having sex with men.

HIV-1 recombination, reverse transcriptase (RT) low fidelity and high replication rate are the drivers of variability and evolution on the global scale. Only few of these HIV-1 chimeric forms have been characterized in Europe, despite 20% of infections are due to unique or circulating recombinant forms worldwide. An outbreak of BC recombinants has been recently described in a southern region of Italy, Apulia, in men having sex with men (MSM) seeking sexual partners on-line.

Human immunodeficiency virus-1 B and non-B subtypes with the same drug resistance pattern respond similarly to antiretroviral therapy.

We analysed the 12-week virological response to protease inhibitor (PI) or non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) therapy in 1108 patients carrying B or non-B human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 subtypes with matched resistance mutation patterns. Response rates were not significantly different for non-B and B subtypes stratified for treatment status (51.5% vs.

Transmission of resistant HIV type 1 variants and epidemiological chains in Italian newly diagnosed individuals.

Transmission of HIV-1 and drug resistance continue to occur at a considerable level in Italy, influenced mainly by changes in modality of infection. However, the long period of infectivity makes difficult the interpretation of epidemiological networks, based on epidemiological data only. We studied 510 naive HIV-1-infected individuals, of whom 400 (78.

Changing patterns in HIV-1 non-B clade prevalence and diversity in Italy over three decades.

Background: HIV-1 non-B subtypes have recently entered Western Europe following immigration from other regions. The distribution of non-B clades and their association with demographic factors, over the entire course of the HIV-1 epidemic, have not been fully investigated in Italy.

Methods: We carried out a phylogenetic analysis of HIV-1 pol sequences derived from 3670 patients followed at 50 Italian clinical centres over nearly three decades.