Near Full-Length Genome Sequence of a Novel HIV-1 Recombinant Form (CRF01_AE/07_BC) Detected Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Zhejiang, China.

The prevalence of HIV type 1 among men who have sex with men (MSM) is increasing in China. We report here a novel HIV-1 recombinant form (CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC) detected from a male patient infected with HIV-1 by homosexual behavior in Zhejiang Province of eastern China. The near full-length genome analyses showed that the unique HIV-1 recombinant isolate (16ZJ305) has two recombinant breakpoints observed in the env and tat/rev gene regions. To date, several novel CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC recombinant forms have been identified, which may imply an active transmission network of HIV-1 infection among MSM. Further studies of the molecular epidemiology of the HIV-1 epidemic among MSM are necessary to gain a better understanding of the transmission network and track the genetic evolution.