HIV-1 Subtypes of HIV-1 patients with virologic failure in different voluntary counseling testing and treatment centers in Khartoum State, Sudan, 2020

Background: Various HIV subtypes have evolved and play significant roles in the pathogenesis, progression, and response to treating human immunodeficiency virus. Method: One hundred and ten HIV-1 patients who attended different voluntary counseling testing and treatment centers in Khartoum state were included. Nested PCR was done for the Pol gene in plasma samples that showed virologic failure, and then successfully amplified samples were sequenced for HIV-1 ­­subtype’s identification. Result: Out of the total, 20 (18.2%) samples showed virologic failure, of them only 9 (45%) were successfully amplified and sequenced; of them, 55.6% (5/9) belonged to subtype C, and only 11.1% (1/9) occurred at the frequency of each subtype A, D, G, and K. Conclusion: No relationship between HIV-1 subtypes and increased viral load were detected, although HIV-1 subtypes are still a strong predictor of disease progression. Dataset collection: After explaining the study and its goal, all participants enrolled in this study were provided with written informed consent for guarantees of confidentiality. Data were obtained by direct interviewing questionnaire during sampling, and information on ART history was collected retrospectively on site from patient records. Data processing: Statistical tests were performed using SPSS version 23. The enumeration data were expressed with percentage (%), and frequencies and the difference between two groups were assessed with χ²-test. A value of P<0.05 was taken as significant.