[Molecular and epidemiologic characteristics of HIV-infection outbreak in the Irkutsk region]. / Molekuliarno-épidemiologicheskaia kharakteristika vspyshki VICh-infektsii v Irkutskoi oblasti.

The genetic analysis of the variants of human immunodeficiency virus of type 1 (HIV-I) circulating among drug addicts in the Irkutsk region was carried out. The results of serological tests and comparative evaluation of electrophoretic mobility of heteroduplexes (HMA) revealed that all 74 samples under study belonged to subtype A. Genetic differences between these viruses did not exceed 2%. Thus, it was the variant of subtype A prevalent in CIS countries which caused the outbreak of HIV infection among drug addicts in the Irkutsk region, but not viruses of subtypes B, C or A/E typical for this risk group in relatively nearby China.