Identification and Characterization of a Novel HIV-1 Circulating Recombinant Form (CRF59_01B) Identified among Men-Who-Have-Sex-with-Men in China

The HIV-1 epidemic among men-who-have-sex-with-men (MSM) continues to expand in China. A large-scale national survey we conducted on HIV-1 strains among MSM in 11 provinces in China from 2008 to 2013 (n = 920) identified a novel transmission cluster consisting of six strains (0.7%) that belonged to a new circulating recombinant form (designated CRF59_01B). CRF59_01B contains two subtype B segments of U.S.-European origin (in the pol and vpu-env regions) in a CRF01_AE backbone. CRF59_01B is the second CRF (after CRF55_01B) circulating primarily among MSM in China. CRF59_01B occurs at a low frequency (less than 1%), but it was detected in four different provinces/regions in China: Liaoning (northeast China) (n = 3); Hunan (central China) (n = 1); Guangdong (south China) (n = 1); Yunnan (southwest China) (n = 1). One additional recombinant strain was detected in a heterosexual individual in Liaoning province but is not the focus of this paper. Bayesian molecular clock analyses indicate that CRF59_01B emerged as a result of recombination between CRF01_AE and subtype B around the year 2001. The emergence of multiple forms of recombinants and CRFs reflects the ever-increasing contribution of homosexual transmission in China's HIV epidemic and indicates an active HIV transmission network among MSM in China.