Dynamics of the HIV-1 variability in adults from Bucharest, 1992-1998

Variability is a hallmark of HIV viruses both at the genetic and the phenotypic level. Viral sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of many isolates revealed specific distribution of HIV-1 subtypes according to the geographic location and route of transmission. In Romania, the currently available data coming from the study of pediatric HIV infection suggest the predominance of subtype F. However, there are few data concerning the distribution of HIV-1 subtypes among adults. We investigated the changes in the distribution of different HIV-1 subtypes among HIV-1 infected adult patients from Bucharest over a 6 years period (1992-1998) by means of V3 binding assays. The analysis of the relative incidence of different HIV-1 serotypes revealed the steady predominance of serotype F (50-75%) among the adults from Bucharest and a small but constant increase of the number of samples with serotype B- from 5% in 1994 to 14% in 1998. In contrast, the serotype E is either absent or weakly represented (4%) during the period of the study. All over the years there was a relatively high proportion (6-30%) of non-reactive samples. This could be an indication for the possible emergence of new or recombinant HIV-1 subtypes.