Genetic analysis of HIV type 2 from Ghana and Guinea-Bissau, West Africa

Abstract

The phylogenetic variability of part of the long terminal repeat (LTR) region of HIV-2 strains isolated in 1995 from five individuals residing in Bissau, the capital city of Guinea-Bissau, and collected from seven persons from Kumasi, Ghana in 1996-1997, was analyzed. All Guinean samples and all but one Ghanaian sample clustered with HIV-2 subtype A. One Ghanaian sample (14%) was classified as HIV-2 subtype B. This study adds to previous reports on HIV-2 subtype distribution in West Africa indicating local prevalence of HIV-2 subtype B in Ivory Coast and neighboring Ghana. © 2001 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.