High level of HIV-1 drug resistance among patients with HIV-1 and HIV-1/2 dual infections in Guinea-Bissau.

Background: With the widespread use of antiretroviral treatment (ART) in Africa, the risk of drug resistance has increased. The aim of this study was to evaluate levels of HIV-1 resistance among patients with HIV-1 and HIV-1/2 dual infections, treated with ART, at a large HIV clinic in Guinea-Bissau.

Findings: Patients were selected from the Bissau HIV cohort. All patients had HIV-1 or HIV-1/2 dual infection, a CD4 cell count performed before and 3-12 months after starting ART, and a corresponding available plasma sample. We measured viral load in patients with HIV-1 (n = 63) and HIV-1/2 dual (n = 16) infections a median of 184 days after starting ART (IQR: 126-235 days). In patients with virological failure (defined as viral load >1000 copies/ml) and with sufficient plasma available, we performed an HIV-1 genotypic resistance test. Thirty-six patients (46%) had virological failure. The CD4 cell count did not predict treatment failure. Of the 36 patients with virological failure, we performed a resistance test in 15 patients (42%), and nine patients (9/15; 60%) had resistance mutations. The most common mutation was K103N, which confers high-level resistance to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI). No major mutations against protease inhibitors (PI) were found.

Conclusions: Our results showed that patients with HIV-1 and HIV-1/2 dual infections in Guinea-Bissau had a high rate of virological failure and rapid development of NNRTI resistance. It remains to be determined whether a more robust, PI-based treatment regimen might benefit this population more than NNRTIs.