Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) non-B subtypes in foreigners living in Madrid, Spain, and comparison of the performances ofthe AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR version 1.0 and the new automated version 1.5
A. Holguin et al., Prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) non-B subtypes in foreigners living in Madrid, Spain, and comparison of the performances ofthe AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR version 1.0 and the new automated version 1.5, J CLIN MICR, 39(5), 2001, pp. 1850-1854
Plasma specimens collected in 1999 from 32 human immunodeficiency virus typ
e 1 (HIV-1)-infected foreigners living in Madrid, Spain, were examined for
the presence of non-B subtypes, Furthermore, plasma viremia was quantified
using two different AMPLICOR HIV-1 MONITOR tests, version 1.0 and the new u
pgraded and automated version 1.5 (COBAS). Most patients came from Africa,
where they most likely had acquired HIV-1 infection through sexual contact.
HIV-1 genetic subtyping was based on the phylogenetic analysis of the prot
ease gene. Twenty-two subtype B, six subtype G, two subtype C, one subtype
A, and one D subtype infection were found. Overall, non-B subtypes represen
ted 31.25% of the study population. Irrespective of the HIV-1 variant, vira
l load values above the detection limit (200 HIV RNA copies/ml) increased f
rom 56.2 to 71.9% for results obtained using MONITOR version 1.0 and COBAS,
respectively. Moreover, significant differences in viral load values (>0.5
logs) were recognized in up to 37.5% of samples. In summary, COBAS seemed
to be more reliable for testing plasma viral load in HIV-infected immigrant
s living in Spain, one third of whom carried non-B subtypes.