Short Communication: Emerging Transmitted HIV Type 1 Drug Resistance Mutations Among Patients Prior to Start of First-Line Antiretroviral Therapy in Middle and Low Prevalence Sites in China

Abstract It is known that transmitted drug resistance (TDR) will most likely emerge in regions where antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been widely available for years. However, after a decade of rapid scale-up of ART in China, there are few data regarding TDR among HIV-infected patients prior to initiating first-line ART in China. A prospective, observational cohort study was performed at sentinel sites in five provinces or municipalities. Study participants were recruited at the county- or city-level centers for disease control (CDCs), during routine monitoring visits following referral from diagnosing parties (e.g., hospitals). Each province or municipality recruited 140 patients through sequential sampling throughout the 2011 calendar year. A total of 627 eligible subjects were included in the analysis. the median CD4+ cell count was 206 cells/ml at the baseline survey. The majority of patients (93.5%) had plasma HIV viral load ≥1,000 copies/ml. Of the 627 patients, 17 (2.7%) had drug resistance mutatio...