AEGiS-12IAC: Seroreactivity to HIV-1 peptides in pregnant women in Porto Alegre, RS state, Brazil.

12th International AIDS Conference

Geneva, Switzerland - June 28-July 3, 1998

Seroreactivity to HIV-1 peptides in pregnant women in Porto Alegre, RS state, Brazil.

Int Conf AIDS 1998 Jun 28-Jul 3; 12:22 (abstract no. 11202)

Loureiro R, Casseb JS, Bongertz V, Asquidanini S, Bet E, Silveira VL, Dias CS;;; Sao Paulo State University, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Brazil is the largest country in the South America and reports the majority of AIDS cases reported in the region (116389-1980 to 08/30/1997). Rio Grande do Sul is the southeast state in Brazil and has the third number of AIDS cases and the most prevalence of HIV/AIDS among women of all Country. The large land mass cultural, economical, and climatologic diversity are also reflected into the HIV-1 genetic variation in Brazil. Recent studies have shown that three subtypes (B, F and C) circulate in Brazil. Some investigators believe certain subtypes of HIV-1 are preferentially transmitted by the heterosexual route.

METHODS: A total of 1800 pregnant women who were admitted to Maternal Hospital in Porto Alegre were invited to participate of this study during 1995. Fifty-two (52/1800; 2.9%) of the sera samples were confirmed to be HIV-1 positive by Western blot and twenty-six gave indeterminate samples were tested by synthetic peptides representing subtypes which are circulating in Brazil.

RESULTS: We find in this samples: subtype B Us/European strain (7-13.5%), subtype B-Brazilian strain (6-11.5%), subtype F (5-9.6%), and subtype C (18-34.6%); nineteen percent (10 samples) was indeterminate and 6 (11.5%) negative. Of the 26 HIV-1 indeterminate sera samples, two typed as subtype C, two were not available for subtyping, and the rest were negative for all peptides tested. The two subtype C sera also were positive for a synthetic peptide representing gp41 of MN strain, suggesting that these women were in seroconversion period.

CONCLUSIONS: We observed that HIV-1 subtype C was the most prevalent subtype in this population contrasting with that seen in other regions of the Brazil. The presence of the subtype C in this population appears to be geographically restricted. It is possible that the presence of subtype C may be association with high prevalence heterosexually acquired acquired of HIV-1 in low-income women of Porto Alegre. These findings will be relevant in the design of intervention programs, such as vaccine development in Brazil.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV-1, HIV Infections, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Prevalence, HIV Seropositivity, HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase, Peptides, Variation (Genetics), Brazil, South America, Pregnant Women, Human, Female, Pregnancy, genetics, ICA12
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