BACKGROUND: Differences between HIV genotypes may affect HIV disease progression. We examined infecting HIV genotypes and their association with disease progression in a cohort of men who have sex with men with incident HIV infection in Bangkok, Thailand. METHODS: We characterized the viral genotype of 189 new HIV infections among MSM identified between 2006-2014 using hybridization and sequencing. Plasma viral load (PVL) was determined by PCR, and CD4+ T-cell counts were measured by flow cytometry. We used Generalized Estimating Equations to examine factors associated with changes in CD4+ T-cell counts. Factors associated with immunologic failure were analyzed using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Among 189 MSM, 84% were infected with CRF01_AE, 11% with recombinant B/CRF01_AE and 5% with subtype B. CD4+ T-cell decline rates were 68, 65, and 46 cells/muL/year for CRF01_AE, recombinants, and subtype B, respectively, and were not significantly different between HIV subtypes. CD4+ T-cell decline rate was significantly associated with baseline PVL and CD4+ T-cell counts (p <0.001). Progression to immunologic failure was associated with baseline CD4+ T-cell </= 500 cells/muL (AHR 1.97; 95% CI 1.14-3.40, p = 0.015) and PVL > 50,000 copies/ml (AHR 2.03; 1.14-3.63, p = 0.017). There was no difference in time to immunologic failure between HIV subtypes. CONCLUSION: Among HIV-infected Thai MSM, low baseline CD4+ T-cell and high PVL are associated with rapid progression. In this cohort, no significant difference in CD4+ T-cell decline rate or time to immunologic failure was seen between CRF01_AE and other infecting HIV subtypes.

HIV-1 and HSV-2 are frequent genital co-infections in women. To determine how self-collected genital swabs compare to provider-collected cervicovaginal lavage, paired self-collected genital swabs and cervicovaginal lavage from women co-infected with HIV-1 and HSV-2 were evaluated. Women were in an acyclovir clinical trial and their samples were tested for HIV-1 RNA (361 samples) and HSV-2 DNA (378 samples). Virus shedding, quantity and acyclovir effect were compared. HIV-1 and HSV-2 were more frequently detected in self-collected genital swabs: 74.5% of self-collected genital swabs and 63.6% of cervicovaginal lavage had detectable HIV-1 (p ≤ 0.001, Fisher's exact test) and 29.7% of self-collected genital swabs and 19.3% of cervicovaginal lavage had detectable HSV-2 (p ≤ 0.001) in the placebo month. Cervicovaginal lavage and self-collected genital swabs virus levels were correlated (Spearman's rho, 0.68 for HIV; 0.61 for HSV-2) and self-collected genital swabs levels were generally higher. In multivariate modeling, self-collected genital swabs and cervicovaginal lavage could equally detect the virus-suppressive effect of acyclovir: for HIV-1, proportional odds ratios were 0.42 and 0.47 and for HSV-2, they were 0.10 and 0.03 for self-collected genital swabs and cervicovaginal lavage, respectively. Self-collected genital swabs should be considered for detection and measurement of HIV-1 and HSV-2 in clinical trials and other studies as they are a sensitive method to detect virus and can be collected in the home with frequent sampling.

BACKGROUND: In Thailand, new HIV-1 infections are largely concentrated in certain risk groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM), where annual incidence may be as high as 12% per year. The paucity of information on the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in Thai MSM limits progress in understanding the epidemic and developing new prevention methods. We evaluated HIV-1 subtypes in seroincident and seroprevalent HIV-1 infected men enrolled in the Bangkok MSM Cohort Study (BMCS) between 2006 and 2011. METHODS: We characterized HIV-1 subtype in 231 seroprevalent and 194 seroincident subjects using the multihybridization assay (MHA). Apparent dual infections, recombinant strains, and isolates found to be non-typeable by MHA were further characterized by targeted genomic sequencing. RESULTS: Most subjects were infected with HIV-1 CRF01_AE (82%), followed by infections with recombinants (11%, primarily CRF01_AE/B recombinants), subtype B (5%), and dual infections (2%). More than 11 distinct chimeric patterns were observed among CRF01B_AE/B recombinants, most involving recombination within integrase. A significant increase in the proportion of non-typeable strains was observed among seroincident MSM between 2006 and 2011. CONCLUSION: CRF01_AE and subtype B were the most and least common infecting strains, respectively. The predominance of CRF01_AE among HIV-1 infections in Thai MSM participating in the BMCS parallels trends observed in Thai heterosexuals and injecting drug users. The presence of complex recombinants, and a significant rise in non-typeable strains suggest ongoing changes in the genetic makeup of the HIV-1 epidemic in Thailand, which may pose challenges for HIV-1 prevention efforts and vaccine development.

Coinfection with HIV and hepatitis B virus (HBV) is common in resource-limited settings but is frequently not diagnosed. The authors retrospectively tested specimens for HBV in HIV-infected Thai women who had participated in an antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinical study. A substantial proportion (27 of 211; 13%) of HIV-infected women were HBV coinfected. Among HIV/HBV-coinfected women, the authors observed similar rates of antiretroviral-associated liver toxicity (despite nevirapine [NVP] use) and CD4 count reconstitution as observed in HIV-monoinfected women. Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) screening detected the majority (81%) of HBV coinfections, including all 5 HBV-coinfected women who did not suppress HBV despite 48 weeks of lamivudine (3TC)-containing ART and could be used to tailor ART for patients diagnosed with HBV coinfection in accordance with World Health Organization guidelines. Although HBsAg screening did not diagnose 5 occult HBV coinfections, these women achieved HBV suppression on 3TC-containing ART, suggesting that not detecting occult HBV coinfection would have limited clinical impact.

Factors increasing genital HIV shedding may increase female-to-male HIV transmission risk. We examined HIV shedding in 67 HIV-1/HSV-2-infected women over two menstrual cycles. Shedding occurred in 60%, 48% and 54% of samples during the follicular, periovulatory and luteal phases respectively (p=0.01). Shedding declined after menses until ovulation with slope -0.054 log(10) copies/swab/day (p<0.001), corresponding to a change of approximately ~0.74 log(10) between peak and nadir levels. Shedding increased during the luteal phase, only among women with CD4 counts<350 cells/microL. In reproductive-aged women, shedding frequency and magnitude are greatest immediately following menses, and lowest at ovulation.