Molecular characterization of HIV-1 in Kinshasa

Descriptive study conducted in 8 selected Antiretroviral Treatment Centers. A Rapid Screening Test was performed to recruit and include HIV patients. The Molecular Biology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Kinshasa was used for confirmatory molecular analyses and for a viral load check at the 6th month. Genotyping analyses were performed in the Genetics Department of the University of Liege Hospital. At inclusion, 153 samples from HIV-1 infected patients were collected. The population was composed of 61 (39.9%) men and 92 (60.1%) women. The mean age was 37±12 years. The median CD4 and CV lymphocyte values were 180 cells/mm3 and 5.68 log10 RNA copies/ml, respectively. Subtype A was dominant with 35 cases (22.9%) followed by CRF02_AG (11.1%). Several mutations were observed. At the 6th month, 138 patients (90.2%) including 81 women had returned for control. Median CD4 and CV values of patients were 480 cells/mm3 and 0.90 log10 RNA copies/ml, respectively. Thirty-four patients (24.6%) were in virological failure.