Identification of CRF89_BF, a new member of an HIV-1 circulating BF intersubtype recombinant form family widely spread in South America.

Circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) contribute substantially to the HIV-1 pandemic. Among 105 CRFs described in the literature, 16 are BF intersubtype recombinants, most of South American origin, of which CRF12_BF is the most widely spread. A BF recombinant cluster identified in Bolivia was suggested to represent a new CRF_BF. Here we find that it belongs to a larger cluster incorporating 39 viruses collected in 7 countries from 3 continents, 22 of them in Spain, most from Bolivian or Peruvian individuals, and 12 in South America (Bolivia, Argentina, and Peru). This BF cluster comprises three major subclusters, two associated with Bolivian and one with Peruvian individuals. Near full-length genome sequence analyses of nine viruses, collected in Spain, Bolivia, and Peru, revealed coincident BF mosaic structures, with 13 breakpoints, 6 and 7 of which coincided with CRF12_BF and CRF17_BF, respectively. In a phylogenetic tree, they grouped in a clade closely related to these CRFs, and more distantly to CRF38_BF and CRF44_BF, all circulating in South America. These results allowed to identify a new HIV-1 CRF, designated CRF89_BF. Through phylodynamic analyses, CRF89_BF emergence was estimated in Bolivia around 1986. CRF89_BF is the fifth CRF member of the HIV-1 recombinant family related to CRF12_BF.

Geographical distribution and species identification of human filariasis and onchocerciasis in Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea.

Human filariae are vector-borne parasites and the causative agents of various diseases, including human onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis. Onchocerciasis causes a spectrum of cutaneous and ophthalmologic manifestations (including blindness) and has long been a major public health problem in Bioko Island (Equatorial Guinea). Bioko Island has been included in the WHO's Onchocerciasis Control Program since 1987. In Bioko Island, the specificity and sensitivity of clinical Onchocerca volvulus diagnosis is key. The objective of this work was to update onchocerciasis elimination progress in Bioko Island, after 18 years of mass ivermectin intervention, and the general filariasis situation through a rapid and accurate molecular method. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Bioko Island from mid-January to mid-February 2014. A total of 543 subjects were included in the study. Whole blood and one skin snip (from lumbar regions) were analysed with a real time PCR assay. Two other skin biopsies were analysed by an expert microscopist. All positive samples were confirmed by sequencing. Traditional microscopic examination of the skin biopsies failed to detect any microfilariae. However, 11 (2.03%) infections were detected using PCR assay, including one O. volvulus, two Mansonella streptocerca, seven Mansonella perstans and one Loa loa infections. PCR assays in blood detected 52 filariae-positive individuals (9.6%) which harboured M. perstans or L. loa. The low prevalence of O. volvulus confirms the success of the Onchocerciasis Control Programme and suggests that Mass Drug Administration in Bioko Island can be interrupted in the near future. The very high prevalence of M. perstans found in skin snips assays raises doubts about the reliability of microscope-based diagnosis of O. volvulus infections.