A research on the HIV subtype among Filipino males shows that there was a continuing rise of the HIV subtype CRF01_AE among this group [1]. The subtype CRF01_AE has been reported to be more aggressive, meaning the time to death is reduced, and possibly it has more efficient transmission [2]. The group they study consists of males between 19 to 51 years of age with the average age of 29 years old.
CRF01_AE originated in Central Africa and then migrated to Thailand. Transmission is said to be most likely through heterosexual sex. However, the sample in the study by Salvaña et. al. are all males and 79 of the 81 are men who have sex with men (MSM). In the Philippines, the epidemic has shifted from a heterosexual epidemic to predominantly an MSM epidemic.
Meanwhile, subtype B is the dominant HIV subtype in the Americas, Western Europe and Australasia.
The graph below shows the changing predominant subtype among Filipino males in the study.
Subtype prevalence among Filipino males from 1987 to 2013 [1].
According to the authors, “Knowledge about the prevalence of different HIV subtypes among newly diagnosed cases of HIV infection will help determine transmission dynamics, inform treatment recommendations, and provide evidence for policy development.”
This study was published this August in the International Journal of Infections Diseases.
References:
[1] Salvaña, Edsel Maurice T., et al. “The changing molecular epidemiology of HIV in the Philippines.” International Journal of Infectious Diseases 61 (2017): 44-50.
[2] Taylor, Barbara S., et al. “The challenge of HIV-1 subtype diversity.” New England Journal of Medicine 358.15 (2008): 1590-1602.
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