Identification of a Novel HIV-1 Recombinant Form (B/C) in Men Who Have Sex with Men in Shaanxi, China

Abstract Many new circulating recombinant forms (CRFs) and unique recombinant forms (URFs) of HIV-1 have been found in men who have sex with men (MSM) in recent years, in China. In this study, a unique HIV-1 recombinant genome (SN153) was characterized from an HIV-positive male infected through homosexual behavior in Shaanxi, China. The mosaic pattern had a complex intersubtype recombinant structure with six breakpoints, with three subtype C segments inserted into subtype B backbone. And three similar breakpoints with CRF07_BC were observed in the pol gene. The identification of the new URF suggested the genetic complexity of the HIV epidemic among MSM in Shaanxi province and the urgent need for epidemiological surveillance and their origin of the new recombination forms.