HIV type 1 zidovudine (ZDV) resistance in blood and uterine cervical secretions of pregnant women.

To determine if HIV-1 resistance testing of the blood predicts mutants in the genital secretions of ZDV-treated pregnant women, ZDV resistance mutations were assessed by an oligonucleotide ligation assay. ZDV resistance was detected in viral sequences from blood (16/48; 33%) and cervical secretions (6/24; 25%) collected during 57 pregnancies. The genotype of 11/69 (16%) resistance codons was discordant between blood and cervical virus of pregnant women near term. However, in only 1 (1.8%) of 57 pregnancies evaluated was resistant virus limited to the cervical secretions. ZDV-resistant virus is rarely limited to the female genital tract.