HIV-1 genetic diversity in antenatal cohort, Canada

We studied HIV genetic diversity in a cohort of 127 pregnant, HIV-infected women who received prenatal care at Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal, Canada, between 1999 and 2003. Clade assignments were derived by phylogenetic analysis of amplified pol sequences. Genotyping was successful in 103 of 127 women, 59 (57.3%) of whom were infected with clade B HIV-1, and 44 (42.7%) with nonclade B viruses, including subtypes A, C, D, F, G, and H. Four sequences remained unassigned. Forty-three of 44 women infected with non-clade B viruses were newcomers from sub-Saharan Africa, and subtype identity was consistent with those circulating in their countries of origin. These results highlight the epidemiologic importance of non-B HIV-1 in antenatal populations in a large North American urban center, underscore the influence of population movements on clade intermixing, and identify a group of patients who could be targeted for surveillance and drug therapy followup.