HIV type 1 strains common in Europe, Africa, and Asia cocirculate in Yemen

To determine the HIV-1 genetic diversity in Yemen, 19 strains collected from men and women were sequenced in pol and six of those were full genome sequenced; all were phylogenetically analyzed. Using the pol sequence data, nine (47.3%) were subtype B, six (31.6%) subtype C, two (10.5%) subtype D, one strain (5.3%) subtype A, and another (5.3%) a unique recombinant form (URF). Concordant phylogenies were also obtained for the six strains full genome sequenced. Most of the strains were from the capitol, Sana'a (n = 16). Five of the C strains clustered with African Cs, and one clustered with the Indian C strains. Of the two subtype D strains, one clustered with Ugandan strains and one with Cameroon. The subtype A strain was similar to a Cameroon variant of subtype A and the URF strain was a recombinant between CRF11, CRF13, and subtype B. The HIV epidemic in Yemen is extremely complex, with strains of HIV-1 that have originated in East and West Africa, Europe, and India.