HIV-1 molecular epidemiology in Bangladesh: A systematic review

Md Maruf Ahmed Molla; Mahmuda Yeasmin; Asish Kumar Ghosh; Tasnim Nafisa; Md Khairul Islam; K M Saif-Ur-Rahman

doi:10.1002/hsr2.344

HIV-1 molecular epidemiology in Bangladesh: A systematic review

Health Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 30;4(3):e344. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.344. eCollection 2021 Sep.

Authors

Md Maruf Ahmed Molla¹, Mahmuda Yeasmin¹, Asish Kumar Ghosh², Tasnim Nafisa¹, Md Khairul Islam³, K M Saif-Ur-Rahman⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Virology National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center Dhaka Bangladesh.
² Department of Virology Dhaka Medical College Dhaka Bangladesh.
³ Department of Medicine Dhaka Medical College Hospital Dhaka Bangladesh.
⁴ Health Systems and Population Studies Division icddr,b Dhaka Bangladesh.

Abstract

Background and aims: It is postulated that molecular methods along with mathematical modeling can provide critical inference regarding epidemiological parameters, transmission dynamics, spatiotemporal characteristics, and intervention efficacy. Hence, studying molecular epidemiology of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 infection, especially in resource-limited settings and with a large diaspora of the migrant population such as that of Bangladesh, is of paramount importance. The purpose of this systematic review was to concisely present and discuss the findings from previous studies conducted in Bangladesh regarding HIV-1 subtype prevalence.

Methods: Articles were retrieved from six publicly available databases regarding HIV-1 molecular epidemiology using keywords HIV, HIV-1, subtype(s), Bangladesh, and any combination of aforementioned keywords using Boolean operators. A total of 14 articles were downloaded and screened for suitability. Finally, five studies, containing pooled sequences from 317 individuals, were included in this systematic review.

Results: Results revealed a preponderance of subtype C among HIV-1 infected population (51.10%), followed by circulating recombinant form (CRF)_07BC (15.46%), CRF_01AE (5.68%), A1 (4.73%), CRF_02AG (3.47%), G (3.15%), CRF_62BC (2.84%), B (2.21%), and other subtypes and recombinant forms in small percentages. Subtype C was largely predominant in intravenous drug users as well as female sex workers, whereas the migrant population exhibited a diverse subtype including rare recombinant forms, largely due to their travel in the Middle East and other South East Asian countries.

Conclusion: With the number of HIV-1 infections increasing among the general population and a steady increase in the migrant population, molecular epidemiological data are required to curb the progression of the HIV-1 epidemic in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Bangladesh; HIV‐1; molecular epidemiology; prevalence; subtypes; systematic review.

Publication types

Review