Frequency of Transmitted Drug Resistance Mutations Among Treatment-Naive HIV-1-Infected Individuals at a Tertiary Care Centre in South India

Introduction Morbidity and mortality among HIV-1-infected individuals has been dramatically reduced by the implementation of combinational antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, the efficiency of these therapies is compromised due to HIV-1 transmitted drug resistance mutations (TDRMs). Methods We collected a total of 127 samples from ART-naive HIV-infected individuals and sequenced the pol gene and analysed for drug resistance mutations using the Calibrated Population Resistance (CPR) tool in the Stanford database. Results All the 127 clinical samples (100 %) were identified as HIV-1 subtype C. Based on the CPR tool, three strains (2.4 %) had TDRMs, and these were K101E, Y181C and G190A. Our findings correlated well with the WHO surveys conducted in Asia, including India, which consistently reported <5% TDRM among the specific populations assessed. Conclusion In countries like India, regular monitoring of TDRMs will provide better information for clinical practice improvement and policy making.