Dissemination of nonpandemic Caribbean HIV-1 subtype B clades in Latin America

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of the HIV-1 subtype B pandemic (B-PANDEMIC) and Caribbean (B-CAR) clades in Latin America and to reconstruct the spatiotemporal dynamics of dissemination of the B-CAR clades in the region. Design: A total of 7654 HIV-1 subtype B pol sequences collected from 18 different Latin American countries between 1989 and 2011 were analyzed together with subtype B reference sequences representative of the B-PANDEMIC (US/France = 300) and the B-CAR (Caribbean = 279, Panama = 37) clades. Methods: Phylogeographic and evolutionary parameters were estimated from sequence data using maximum likelihood and Bayesian coalescent-based methods. Results: Nonpandemic B-CAR strains were probably disseminated from the Caribbean islands of Hispaniola and Trinidad and Tobago into Latin America since the early 1970s. The B-CAR strains reached nearly all countries from Latin America here analyzed and in some of them were spread locally, although their overall prevalence in the region is low. The B-PANDEMIC clade comprises more than 90% of subtype B infections in most countries analyzed, with exception of Suriname, French Guyana and probably Guyana, where both B-PANDEMIC and B-CAR clades seem to circulate at a similar prevalence. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that nonpandemic subtype B lineages of Caribbean origin have been disseminated into Latin America shortly after the estimated introduction of subtype B in the continent. Despite their early dissemination, the B-CAR strains account for a minor fraction of current HIV-1 subtype B infections in the region that are mainly driven by spreading of the globally disseminated B-PANDEMIC clade. Copyright (C) 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.