Short communication: Prevalence of HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance in Liberia

No data on HIV-transmitted drug resistance (TDR) are available in Liberia in which the HIV prevalence in the general population is estimated at 1.5%. The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of TDR in HIV-1 from recently diagnosed and untreated patients living in Monrovia, Liberia. The study was performed in the John F. Kennedy Medical Center and in the Redemption Hospital, both located in Monrovia. All newly HIV-1 diagnosed patients attending voluntary counseling testing centers and antiretroviral therapy naive were consecutively included. Protease and reverse transcriptase (RT) regions sequencing was performed using the ANRS procedures (www.hivfrenchresistance.org). Drug resistance mutations (DRM) were identified according to the 2009 updated WHO surveillance DRM list. Among the 116 HIV-1-infected patients enrolled in the study, 85 (73%) were women. Protease and RT sequencing was successful in 109 (94%) and 102 (88%) samples, respectively. Seventy-five (66%) patients were infected with CRF02_AG. One DRM was observed in six samples, leading to a TDR prevalence of 5.9% (CI 95%=1.7-10.1). DRM were observed in two patients (2.0%; CI 95%=0.0-4.7), four patients (3.9%; CI 95%=0.1-7.7), and one patient (0.9%; CI 95%=0.0-2.7) for nucleoside RT inhibitors (NRTI), non-NRTI (NNRTI), and protease inhibitors, respectively. Overall, one patient exhibited dual class-resistant viruses, harboring NRTI and NNRTI resistance mutations (1.0%; CI 95%=0.0-2.9). This first survey study in Liberia reported a TDR prevalence of 5.9%, classified as moderate according to the WHO criteria, indicating that further surveillance is warranted to follow the level and evolution of TDR prevalence in recently HIV-1 diagnosed patients.