Serotype analysis of Indian patients with HIV infection

Abstract

HIV infection has established itself in India. Besides Bombay, Madras and Manipur it has assumed epidemic proportions in Punjab, where 24% of seropositives acquired infection through blood products. Preliminary observations on genetic analysis in 13 isolates revealed that the principal neutralizing determinant (PND) of the V₃ loop was closely related to the South African isolate. Since serotyping can give reliable information about genotypic prevalence in the population, serotyping in the present study used 5 synthetic peptides (NOF, EL₁, MN, IIIB, IND) of African, North American, European and Indian origin. The Indian consensus was derived from genotype analysis of 13 cases. Results of serotype analysis indicated that 82% of patients harboured a strain related to the South African type of HIV-1. These observations have a sinister significance for designing vaccine strategies for this region.