Abstract
We report here a novel HIV-1 second-generation recombinant form (CRF01_AE/CRF07_BC) composed of CRF01_AE and CRF07_BC, identified among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Jilin, with four breakpoints observed in the pol, vif, and vpr genes. The CRF01_AE regions of the recombinant were clustered with the CRF01_AE lineage, which is mainly circulating among MSM in northern China, with the support of 100% bootstrap value, indicating that the parental origin of the CRF01_AE regions was from MSM, in which recombination events may be more likely to occur. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detection of a novel HIV-1 second-generation recombinant form (CRF01AE/CRF07_BC) in Jilin, which indicates active transmission networks of HIV-1 infection among MSM in the region. Therefore, it is necessary to continue monitoring the molecular epidemiology of HIV-1 among MSM in Jilin to obtain a better understanding of the transmission and potential public health impact of HIV-1 among MSM in the region.