PRELIMINARY COMMUNICATION FOR RAPID COMMUNICATION OF PRELIMINARY DATA
Genetic variation and monophyletic assembly of HIV-1 strains among infected patients within Libyan community
1
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya
2
Department of Statistics, Faculty of Science, Tripoli University, Tripoli, Libya
3
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tripoli, Tripoli, Libya
Submission date: 2023-09-04
Acceptance date: 2023-09-07
Online publication date: 2026-01-24
Corresponding author
Mohamed A. Daw
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, CC 82668, Tripoli, Libya
Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tripoli, CC 82668, Tripoli, Libya
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
A preliminary study was carried out among a total of 371 acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients from different regions of Libya, investigating the genetic variability of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) strains. Patients studied were from four regions, including Western region (n = 135, 36.4%), Eastern region (n = 98, 26.4%), Middle region (n = 85, 22.9%), and Southern region (n = 53, 14.3%) of Libya. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 197 (53.1%) patients were sub-type B and 78 (21%) were sub-type A. In 96 (18.6%) patients, CRF02_AG strain was isolated in those from the Eastern region (p < 0.001). CRF02_AG strain was less distributed in other regions, while sub-types B and A showed equal distribution within other regions. The genetic diversity of HIV-1 strain was evident in Western, Central, and Southern regions, although strains from the Eastern region were found to be persistently monophyletic. Compared with other sub-Saharan and North African countries, the genetic sub-type distribution of HIV-1 strains in Libya is very heterogeneous in most of the regions, except the Eastern region. The strain isolated in patients from the Eastern region is unique due to several reasons, including being monophyletic, highly persistent, and rarely reported in other regions. Therefore, monitoring and following the continuity of HIV spread is essential for determining public health priorities, assessing the impact of interventions, and estimating current and future healthcare needs.
REFERENCES (24)
1.
Piot P, Bartos M, Ghys PD, Walker N, Schwartländer B. The global impact of HIV/AIDS. Nature 2001; 410: 968-973.
2.
Daw MA, Ahmed MO. Epidemiological characterization and geographic distribution of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome infection in North African countries. World J Virol 2021; 10: 69-85.
3.
Sharp PM, Hahn BH. The evolution of HIV-1 and the origin of AIDS. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2010; 365: 2487-2494.
4.
Giovanetti M, Ciccozzi M, Parolin C, Borsetti A. Molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 in African countries: a comprehensive overview. Pathogens 2020; 9: 1072. DOI: 10.3390/pathogens9121072.
5.
Santoro MM, Perno CF. HIV-1 genetic variability and clinical implications. ISRN Microbiol 2013; 2013: 481314. DOI: 10.1155/2013/481314.
6.
Lau KA, Wong JJ. Current trends of HIV recombination worldwide. Infect Dis Rep 2013; 5 (Suppl 1): e4. DOI: 10.4081/idr.2013.s1.e4.
7.
Chow WZ, Takebe Y, Syafina NE, Prakasa MS, Chan KG, Al-Darraji HA, et al. A newly emerging HIV-1 recombinant lineage (CRF58_01B) disseminating among people who inject drugs in Malaysia. PLoS One 2014; 9: e85250. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0085250.
8.
D’arc M, Ayouba A, Esteban A, Learn GH, Boué V, Liegeois F, et al. Origin of the HIV-1 group O epidemic in western lowland gorillas. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112: E1343-E1352. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1502022112.
9.
Faria NR, Rambaut A, Suchard MA, Baele G, Bedford T, Ward MJ, et al. HIV epidemiology. The early spread and epidemic ignition of HIV-1 in human populations. Science 2014; 346: 56-61.
10.
Ahn I, Son HS. Epidemiological comparisons of codon usage patterns among HIV-1 isolates from Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Exp Mol Med 2006; 38: 643-651.
11.
Parczewski M, Urbanska A, Grzeszczuk A, Maciejewska K, Witak-Jedra M, Leszczyszyn-Pynka M. Phylogeographic analysis on the travel-related introduction of HIV-1 non-B subtypes to Northern Poland. Infect Genet Evol 2014; 27: 121-130.
12.
Daw MA, El-Bouzedi A, Ahmed MO, Dau AA, Agnan MM, Drah AM, Deake AO; in association with Libyan Study Group of Hepatitis & HIV. Prevalence of human immune deficiency virus in immigrants crossing to Europe from North and Sub-Saharan Africa. Travel Med Infect Dis 2016; 14: 637-638.
13.
Mysko B. Libya: foreign healthcare workers sentenced to death for deliberate infection. HIV AIDS Policy Law Rev 2004; 9: 61.
14.
Parish LC. Freedom for the Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor. Clin Dermatol 2008; 26: 574. DOI: 10.1016/j.clindermatol.2007.11.009.
15.
Daw MA, El-Bouzedi AH, Dau AA. Trends and patterns of deaths, injuries and intentional disabilities within the Libyan armed conflict: 2012-2017. PLoS One 2019; 14: e0216061. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0216061.
16.
Daw MA. Libyan healthcare system during the armed conflict: challenges and restoration. Afr J Emerg Med 2017; 7: 47-50.
17.
Daw MA, El-Bouzedi A, Ahmed MO, Dau AA; in association with the Libyan Study Group of Hepatitis & HIV. Molecular and epidemiological characterization of HIV-1 subtypes among Libyan patients. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10: 170. DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-2491-2.
18.
Daw MA, Shabash A, El-Bouzedi A, Dau AA; in association with the Libyan Study Group of Hepatitis & HIV. Seroprevalence of HBV, HCV & HIV co-infection and risk factors analysis in Tripoli-Libya. PLoS One 2014; 9: e98793. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0098793.
19.
Daw MA, Daw AM, Sifennasr NEM, Draha AM, Daw AA, Daw AA, et al.; in association with Libyan Study Group of Hepatitis & HIV. Spatiotemporal analysis and epidemiological characterization of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in Libya within a twenty five year period: 1993-2017. AIDS Res Ther 2019; 16: 14. DOI: 10.1186/s12981-019-0228-0.
20.
Daw MA, El-Bouzedi AH, Ahmed MO. The impact of armed conflict on the prevalence and transmission dynamics of HIV infection in Libya. Front Public Health 2022; 10: 779778. DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.779778.
21.
van Harmelen J, Wood R, Lambrick M, Rybicki EP, Williamson AL, Williamson C. An association between HIV-1 subtypes and mode of transmission in Cape Town, South Africa. AIDS 1997; 11: 81-87.
22.
Esteves A, Parreira R, Venenno T, Franco M, Piedade J, Germano De Sousa J, Canas-Ferreira WF. Molecular epidemiology of HIV type 1 infection in Portugal: high prevalence of non-B subtypes. AIDS Res Hum Retroviruses 2002; 18: 313-325.
23.
Taylor BS, Sobieszczyk ME, McCutchan FE, Hammer SM. The challenge of HIV-1 subtype diversity. N Engl J Med 2008; 358: 1590-1602.
24.
Huang A, Hogan JW, Istrail S, DeLong A, Katzenstein DA, Kantor R. Global analysis of sequence diversity within HIV-1 subtypes across geographic regions. Future Virol 2012; 7: 505-517.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
| eISSN: | 1732-2707 |
| ISSN: | 1730-1270 |
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
