Surveillance of Transmitted Drug Resistance in HIV-1-Infected Youths Aged 16 to 25 Years, a Decade After Scale-up of Antiretroviral Therapy in Hebei, China.

Sexual exposure has been the predominant route of HIV-1 spread in Hebei Province, China. However, little information is available on HIV-1-transmitted drug resistance (TDR) among HIV-1-infected youths aged 16 to 25 years who are infected with HIV-1 and sexually active. In this study, the overall prevalence of TDR was 6.6% (10/152), a moderate level (5.0%-15.0%) according to World Health Organization Threshold Survey guidelines. However, the prevalence of TDR to protease inhibitors and nonnucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors was 4.6% (7/152) and 2.0% (3/152), respectively, which correspond to a low level (<5.0%). All TDR mutations (M46L/I, Y181C, K101E, and G190E) were found only in youths infected with HIV-1 through sexual activity. The prevalence of TDR among heterosexuals (10.0%, 3/30) was higher than that among men who have sex with men (5.8%, 7/120). TDR mutations resided in CRF01_AE (M46I/L and G190E) and subtype B (Y181C and K101E). Our findings will provide useful information on which drug regimens to use in treating the newly infected people with HIV-1.