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Introduction: Morbidity and mortality among HIV-1-infected individuals has been dramatically reduced by the implementation of combinational antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the efficiency of these therapies is compromised due to HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs). Methods: We collected a total of 127 samples from ART-naïve HIV-infected individuals and sequenced the pol gene and analysed for drug resistance mutations using the Calibrated Population Resistance (CPR) tool in the Stanford database. Results: All the 127 clinical samples (100 %) were identified as HIV-1 subtype C. Based on the CPR tool, three strains (2.4 %) had TDRMs, and these were K101E, Y181C and G190A. Our findings correlated well with the WHO surveys conducted in Asia, including India, which consistently reported <5 % TDRM among the specific populations assessed. Conclusion: In countries like India, regular monitoring of TDRMs will provide better information for clinical practice improvement and policy making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Trichomonas vaginalis is a protozoan parasite and an etiological agent for trichomoniasis, a sexually transmitted infection (STI). Fifty to eighty percentage of women with trichomoniasis are asymptomatic and in the absence of treatment the infection persists longer. Aim: To evaluate the role of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of trichomoniasis and also to look at the frequency of infection among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected women. Methods: A non-nested PCR was standardized to detect 102 bp size amplified product of the adhesin gene of T. vaginalis. The real time performance of this assay was performed with vaginal swab samples from 198 HIV-seropositive women who attended the infectious disease clinic and compared with wet mount and culture in Diamond's modified media. Results: Among the prospectively studied 198 HIV-infected women, 1 (0.51%) was positive by wet mount, 6 (3.03%) were positive by culture and 10 (5.02%) were positive by the PCR. There was a significant observed agreement between the PCR and culture (κ=0.74, Z=10.7, P<0.0000). Conclusion: Our study showed that the PCR assay for the amplification of adhesion gene is a highly sensitive method to screen the high risk group individuals like HIV-positive women for Trichomonas vaginalis compared to the culture. Testing algorithm should be, wet mount and if negative, test by PCR as it is rapid compared to culture which takes 7 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the relative prevalence of HIV-2 subtypes in south India. Nucleotide sequencing of the HIV-2 envelope regions of strains; Phylogenetic analysis; Mean weighted pair-wise genetic distances.