Genetic diversity and antiretroviral resistance of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 in Peruvian military personnel during one year of follow-up.

Introduction. The factors affecting genetic diversity and antiretroviral therapy resistance mutations in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 1 in military personnel are unknown. Objective. To describe the factors affecting genetic variability and resistance to HIV antiretrovirals in the military population during one year of follow-up. Materials and methods. Fifty-two Peruvian military personnel living with HIV and receiving antiretroviral therapy were recruited. Genetic diversity, genetic subtypes, recombination events, and resistance profile occurring in protease and reverse transcriptase genes were compared at 12 and 18 month follow-up, taking into account the socio-epidemiological characteristics of the participants. Results. Intermittent condom use (37%), contact with sex workers (17%) and a history of sexually transmitted infections (56%) were observed. The genetic diversity index (π) increased from 0.30 to 0.45, while genetic subtypes and recombinant forms did not change significantly. Of eleven samples with significant nucleotide changes, five showed resistance mutations. Finally, bivariate analysis showed that increasing subject age was significantly associated with a difference in resistance profile after an interval of 12 months or more. Conclusions. We show that, after at 12 and 18 month of follow-up, HIV-infecting a population of Peruvian military subjects underwent changes in its genetic diversity and resistance profile, which were associated with the chronological age of the participants.