Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection can cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The high HIV mutation rate is a major hurdle in vaccine and drug development. In this study, we analyzed the distribution of HIV genotypes and drug resistance mutations in a Korean patient newly infected with HIV between 2022 and 2023. The Korean clade HIV genotype B type (KR-B) was the most predominant HIV genotype, accounting for 70.7% in 2018–2019. However, recent analysis results have confirmed that the distribution of genotypes other than KR-B will increase to 39.2% and 40.5% from 2022 and 2023, respectively. In particular the diversity of genotypes is expected to gradually increase as many recombinants which were not detected in 2018–2019 such as CRF_01B, CRF_0263, and CRF_01BC. In addition, the drug resistance rate in treatment-naive infected individuals is predicted to be 5.2% in 2022 and 6.7% in 2023. HIV drug resistance among the different classes of antiretroviral drugs was not significantly different. Therefore, the proportion of resistance mutations in the main drug classes will remain largely unchanged from 2022 to 2023. In conclusion, it is crucial to periodically analyze the current status of domestic and epidemiological correlations. Also we have to continuously improve process because of the increasing genetic diversity. A surveillance system must be established through periodic monitoring to analyze drug resistance rates that reflect the latest trends.