RESUMO
BACKGROUND: As access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) increases, the emergence and transmission of HIV drug resistant strains becomes a major problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) therefore recommends an initial minimum-resource method to signal when transmitted HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) requires action. OBJECTIVE: This survey sought to generate information on the presence of HIV drug-resistant strains in the locality where Ghana's ART for HIV was first introduced. METHODS: The Ghana HIVDR threshold survey (TS) was conducted and analyzed according to WHO strategy for surveillance of HIVDR in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Sixty (60) plasma specimens were collected from 2007 to 2009 by an unlinked anonymous method from HIV seropositive pregnant women, aged between 15 to24 years, who were with their first pregnancy and ART naive. Genotyping was done as follows; Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from the samples and the protease (PR) and reverse transcriptase (RT) genes amplified and sequenced. The sequences were then analyzed for HIV drug resistance mutations using Stanford University HIV Drug Resistance Database. RESULTS: Only two individuals were found with major HIVDR mutations: one each in the PR and RT genes. Thus the level of HIVDR in the study population in 2009 was classified as low (< 5%). CONCLUSION: As at February 2009, transmitted drug resistance was not a serious problem in the Eastern Region of Ghana. However, it is important to continue monitoring tHIVDR in order to understand the dynamics of the evolution of HIV drug resistance in the country.
Assuntos
Farmacorresistência Viral/genética , Soropositividade para HIV/epidemiologia , Soropositividade para HIV/transmissão , HIV-1/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Antirretrovirais/uso terapêutico , Análise Mutacional de DNA , Feminino , Genótipo , Gana/epidemiologia , Protease de HIV/genética , Transcriptase Reversa do HIV/genética , Soropositividade para HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Soropositividade para HIV/virologia , Humanos , Mutação , Programas Nacionais de Saúde , Gravidez , Prevalência , Vigilância de Evento Sentinela , Adulto JovemRESUMO
We examined the suppression of virus expression by cleaveage of the HIV-1 RNA gene using a mammalian tRNA 3' processing endoribonuclease and an External Guide Sequence Oligozyme (EGS) in vivo. We constructed an EGS expression vector that used the tRNA(met) promoter as an expression cassette for EGS. The EGS expression vector was targeted to the upstream region of gag, region. The EGS expression vector was co-transfected into COS cells with the HIV-1 gene plasmid vector. As compared with the EGS non-expressing cells and the EGS expressing cells, the EGS expressing cells with the targeted gag start codon had a clearly decreased amount of the HIV-1 gag p24 protein. The EGS expressing cells with the targeted gag start codon showed effective suppression of HIV-1 gene expression. Thus, these studies describe novel gene targeting agents for the inhibition of gene expression and antiviral activity.
Assuntos
Endorribonucleases/farmacologia , Regulação Viral da Expressão Gênica/efeitos dos fármacos , HIV-1/efeitos dos fármacos , HIV-1/genética , Oligonucleotídeos Antissenso/farmacologia , Animais , Células COS , Endorribonucleases/genética , Regulação Viral da Expressão Gênica/genética , Proteína do Núcleo p24 do HIV/biossíntese , Proteína do Núcleo p24 do HIV/genética , HIV-1/metabolismo , Oligonucleotídeos Antissenso/genética , Regiões Promotoras Genéticas , RNA de Transferência de Metionina/genética , RNA Viral/genética , RNA Viral/metabolismoAssuntos
Anticorpos Antivirais/sangue , Infecções por HIV/virologia , Infecções por Herpesviridae/epidemiologia , Herpesvirus Humano 8/imunologia , Sarcoma de Kaposi/epidemiologia , Adulto , Feminino , Gana/epidemiologia , Infecções por HIV/complicações , Infecções por Herpesviridae/complicações , Humanos , Masculino , Prevalência , Sarcoma de Kaposi/complicações , Estudos SoroepidemiológicosRESUMO
In West African countries such as Ghana, efficient human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing is a priority in the fight against AIDS. A new immunochromatographic rapid test, Determine HIV-1/2 (Abbott Diagnostics, North Chicago, Ill.), that detects antibodies against HIV type 1 (HIV-1) and/or HIV-2 was evaluated using Ghanaian blood samples. Two hundred four serum and/or plasma specimens were tested. HIV screening was done by a particle agglutination test and confirmed by a Western blot (WB) test as the "gold standard." The results revealed 125 HIV-seropositive AIDS patients, 75 HIV-seronegative healthy individuals, and 4 individuals for whom the HIV-1 result was indeterminate. The results obtained by the Determine HIV-1/2 assay and Diagnostic HIV SPOT (Genelabs), which is currently widely used in many districts in Ghana, were compared with those of the WB test, excluding the four HIV-1-indeterminate samples. The sensitivity of the Determine HIV-1/2 assay was 100%, compared with 98.0% for the HIV SPOT assay. The specificity was 100% for both tests. Determine HIV-1/2 is a single-step assay and was found to be rapid and easy to perform without any special equipment. It was highly sensitive and specific. The kit can be applied without electricity and water supplies, making it suitable for the detection of HIV antibodies especially in the rural areas of Ghana, West Africa.