Trends in transmitted drug-resistant HIV-1 and demographic characteristics of newly diagnosed patients: Nationwide surveillance from 2003 to 2008 in Japan

The emergence and transmission of drug-resistant human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) compromises antiretroviral treatment for HIV-1. Thus, testing for drug resistance is recommended at diagnosis and before initiating highly active antiretroviral treatment. We conducted an epidemiological study enrolling newly diagnosed patients between 2003 and 2008 in our nationwide surveillance network. In the 6-year study period, the prevalence of drug-resistant HIV-1 among 2573 patients, consisting mainly of Japanese men in their late-30s and infected through male-to-male sexual contacts, followed an increasing trend from 5.9% (16/273) in 2003 to 8.3% (50/605) in 2008. Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor-associated mutations predominated in each year, with T215 revertants being the most abundant. The predictive factor for drug-resistant HIV-1 transmission was subtype B (OR = 2.36; p = 0.004), and those for recent HIV-1 infection were male gender (OR = 3.79; p = 0.009), MSM behavior (OR = 1.67; p = 0.01), Japanese nationality (OR = 2.31; p = 0.008), and subtype B (OR = 5.64; p < 0.05). Continued activities are needed to raise awareness of the risks of HIV-1 infection and complications of drug-resistant strains. Continued surveillance is also needed to understand trends in the HIV-1 epidemic.