Possible transmission of HIV Infection due to human bite

The potential risk of HIV-1 infection following human bite although epidemiologically insignificant, but it is biologically possible. There are anecdotal reports of HIV transmission by human bites particularly if saliva is mixed with blood. The oral tissues support HIV replication and may serve as a previously unrecognized HIV reservoir. The HIV infected individuals have more viruses in blood than saliva, possibly due to the potent HIV-inhibitory properties of saliva. The case presented here is of a primary HIV infections following a human bite where in the saliva was not blood stained but it got smeared on a raw nail bed of a recipient. The blood and saliva of the source and blood of the recipient showed a detectable viral load with 91% sequence homology of C2-V3 region of HIV gp120 between the two individuals. The recipient did not receive PEP [post exposure prophylaxis] as his family physician was unaware of salivary transmission. The family physician should have taken PEP decision after proper evaluation of the severe and bleeding bite. Hence it is necessary to treat the HIV infected human bites with post exposure prophylaxis

Initial Virologic Response and HIV Drug Resistance Among HIV-Infected Individuals Initiating First-line Antiretroviral Therapy at 2 Clinics in Chennai and Mumbai, India

Human immunodeficiency virus drug resistance (HIVDR) in cohorts of patients initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART) at clinics in Chennai and Mumbai, India, was assessed following World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Twelve months after ART initiation, 75% and 64.6% of participants at the Chennai and Mumbai clinics, respectively, achieved viral load suppression of <1000 copies/mL (HIVDR prevention). HIVDR at initiation of ART (P <.05) and 12-month CD4 cell counts <200 cells/μL (P <.05) were associated with HIVDR at 12 months. HIVDR prevention exceeded WHO guidelines (≥70%) at the Chennai clinic but was below the target in Mumbai due to high rates of loss to follow-up. Findings highlight the need for defaulter tracing and scale-up of routine viral load testing to identify patients failing first-line AR

Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitor Resistance Mutations Associated with First-Line Stavudine-Containing Antiretroviral Therapy: Programmatic Implications for Countries Phasing Out Stavudine

Background The World Health Organization Antiretroviral Treatment Guidelines recommend phasing-out stavudine because of its risk of long-term toxicity. There are two mutational pathways of stavudine resistance with different implications for zidovudine and tenofovir cross-resistance, the primary candidates for replacing stavudine. However, because resistance testing is rarely available in resource-limited settings, it is critical to identify the cross-resistance patterns associated with first-line stavudine failure. Methods We analyzed HIV-1 resistance mutations following first-line stavudine failure from 35 publications comprising 1,825 individuals. We also assessed the influence of concomitant nevirapine vs. efavirenz, therapy duration, and HIV-1 subtype on the proportions of mutations associated with zidovudine vs. tenofovir cross-resistance. Results Mutations with preferential zidovudine activity, K65R or K70E, occurred in 5.3% of individuals. Mutations with preferential tenofovir activity, ≥two thymidine analog mutations (TAMs) or Q151M, occurred in 22% of individuals. Nevirapine increased the risk of TAMs, K65R, and Q151M. Longer therapy increased the risk of TAMs and Q151M but not K65R. Subtype C and CRF01_AE increased the risk of K65R, but only CRF01_AE increased the risk of K65R without Q151M. Conclusions Regardless of concomitant nevirapine vs. efavirenz, therapy duration, or subtype, tenofovir was more likely than zidovudine to retain antiviral activity following first-line d4T therap

Geographic and temporal trends in the molecular epidemiology and genetic mechanisms of transmitted HIV-1 drug resistance:an individual-patient- and sequence-level meta-analysis

Regional and subtype-specific mutational patterns of HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance (TDR) are essential for informing first-line antiretroviral (ARV) therapy guidelines and designing diagnostic assays for use in regions where standard genotypic resistance testing is not affordable. We sought to understand the molecular epidemiology of TDR and to identify the HIV-1 drug-resistance mutations responsible for TDR in different regions and virus subtypes.status: publishe

Nonopportunistic Neurologic Manifestations of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus: An Indian Study

CONTEXT: HIV-1 is a neurotropic virus. In a resource-limited country such as India, large populations of affected patients now have access to adequate chemoprophylaxis for opportunistic infections (OIs), allowing them to live longer. Unfortunately the poor availability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) has allowed viral replication to proceed unchecked. This has resulted in an increase in the debilitating neurologic manifestations directly mediated by the virus. OBJECTIVE: The main objective of this study was to identify and describe in detail the direct neurologic manifestations of HIV-1 in antiretroviral treatment (ART)-naive, HIV-infected patients (excluding the neurologic manifestations produced by opportunistic pathogens). DESIGN: Three hundred successive cases of HIV-1 infected, ART-naive patients with neurologic manifestations were studied over a 3-year period. Each case was studied in detail to identify and then exclude manifestations due to opportunistic pathogens. The remaining cases were then analyzed specially in regard to their occurrence and the degree of immune suppression (CD4+ cell counts). SETTING AND PATIENTS: The study was carried out in an apex, tertiary, referral care center for HIV/AIDS in India. All patients were admitted for a detailed analysis. No interventions were carried out, as this was an observational study. RESULTS: Of the 300 cases, 67 (22.3%) had neurologic manifestations due to the direct effects of HIV-1. The HIV infection involved the neuroaxis at all levels. The distribution of cases showed that the region most commonly involved was the brain (50.7%). The manifestations included stroke syndromes (29.8%), demyelinating illnesses (5.9%), AIDS dementia complex (5.9%), and venous sinus thrombosis (4.4%). The other manifestations seen were peripheral neuropathies (35.8% of cases), spinal cord pathologies (5.9% of cases), radiculopathies (4.4% of cases), and a single case of myopathy. The onset of occurrence of these diseases and their progression were then correlated with the CD4+ cell counts. CONCLUSIONS: HIV infection is responsible for a large number of nonopportunistic neurologic manifestations that occur across a large immune spectrum. During the early course of the disease, the polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia induced by the virus results in demyelinating diseases of the central- and peripheral nervous systems (CNS and PNS). As the HIV infection progresses, the direct toxic effects of the virus unfold, directly damaging the CNS and PNS, resulting in protean clinical manifestations