A Novel HIV-1 CRF01_AE/B Recombinant Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Jiangsu Province, China

CRF01_AE and subtype B are the two of major HIV-1 clades circulating in China. HIV spread more rapidly among men who have sex with men (MSM) than among populations with other risk behaviors. In Jiangsu province in China, the HIV-1 incidence among MSM was more than 3.8%. Our previous study showed that almost equal proportions of CRF01_AE, B, and CRF07_BC were circulating among MSM. Moreover, many kinds of CRF01Bs have been identified among MSM in Southeast Asia in recent years. It is therefore inevitable that recombination between CRF01_AE and subtype B will emerge among MSM in Jiangsu province in China. Here we identify a novel recombinant of CRF01_AE/B that has a distinctly different genome structure from other CRF01Bs and unique recombinant forms (URFs) previously identified. An analysis of the near full-length sequence of JS2010001 showed that it is composed of at least three interlaced CRF01_AE and B segments. Recently, many kinds of URFs and C circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) have emerged among MSM in China within a short period of time, which suggests that dual infection of HIV-1 among MSM in China is very common and that more effective intervening measures to prevent the spread of HIV among MSM should be taken.