First case of HIV Type 1 subtype F among men who have sex with men in Colombia

To study the molecular epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) strains among men who have sex with men (MSM), the main high-risk group for HIV infection in Colombia, 113 HIV-positive MSM subjects recruited in Bogota during the year 2002 were genotyped. By heteroduplex mobility assay (env HMA) all samples were classified as subtype B. Partial sequencing of the protease and the reverse transcriptase (Pro/RT) regions performed on a random subset of 10 samples revealed that nine were classified as subtype B, and one sample was subtype F. The specimen that is subtype F in pol and subtype B in env is likely to be is either a recombinant or a dual infection. In this study, we identify the HIV F subtype for the first time in Colombia.