Non-B types of the HIV-1 virus, previously only acquired through overseas infection, are becoming increasingly common in Britain

NT Online News:

A study published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes identified HIV subtypes in 344 patients who were attending Kings College Hospital HIV Clinic, an area with a high migrant population.

Of the non-B infections, 96.8% were in black Africans, 14.2% were in whites and 31% were in black Caribbean patients.

‘Overall, about 23% of all non-B infections in our study were probably acquired in the UK, based on patient reports. This diversity has important implications for clinical management, especially in the interpretation of laboratory tests, such as the HIV viral load level, and drug resistance assays,’ say the authors.

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