25 Years of AIDS: recording progress and future challenges

HIV/AIDS Mortality in Brazil, 2000-2015: Are there reasons for concern?

Introduction and objective:

Mortality studies are essential for the monitoring of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Quality and completeness of data from the mortality information system (SIM) require complementary approaches.

Methods:

Two sources of data were used to assess mortality trends due to HIV/AIDS in Brazil from 2000 and 2014/15: a) data from the SIM published by the Department of STDs, AIDS, and viral hepatitis, and b) Global Burden of Disease 2015 (GBD 2015) studies. Descriptive analyses were carried out and trends in relative reduction of age-adjusted mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants were compared according to the two methods.

Results:

Overall, the magnitude of the mortality rates estimated by the GBD method, for Brazil and its Federative Units (FU), was greater than those obtained from the SIM. The relative reduction was higher for SIM data and there were shifts in the ranking according to the FUs. Between 2000 and 2014/15 there was an increase in the mortality rates for most of the FUs (78 and 88% according to the SIM and GBD, respectively).

Conclusion:

Data regarding mortality due to HIV/AIDS in Brazil should be of concern, regardless of the method used. Differences in magnitude, relative reductions, and ranking can be attributed to methodological differences, but the GBD is broader, with a higher capacity to capture incorrectly classified data and causes of death not registered or not coded as being due to HIV/AIDS. Alternative and complementary data sources can provide important information for HIV/AIDS public policies in Brazil.

Detection of HIV-1 minority variants containing the K103N drug-resistance mutation using a simple method to amplify RNA targets (SMART)

The simple method for amplifying RNA targets (SMART) was used to detect K103N, a common HIV-1 reverse transcriptase drug-resistance mutation. Novel amplifiable SMART probes served as reporter molecules for RNA sequences that are captured and separated on a microfluidic platform under zero-flow conditions. Assays were performed both off chip and in a microchip reservoir using a modified version of real-time nucleic acid sequence-based amplification, without the noncyclic phase, and 65°C preheat. A total of 6000 copies/mL of the synthetic sequences were detected within 180 minutes of amplification. Although the sensitivity of research platforms is higher, SMART has the potential to offer comparable sensitivity and speed to commercially available viral load and HIV detection kits. Furthermore, SMART uses an inexpensive, practical, and more accurate isothermal exponential amplification technique. The use of molecular beacons resulted in relatively fast real-time detection (<180 minutes); however, they were also shown to hinder the amplification process when compared with end point detection. Finally, SMART probes were used for modeling of K103N concentrations within an unknown sample. Only 1% of the SMART probes was detected within the wild-type population (6 × 10(8) copies/mL). These results establish the groundwork for point-of-care drug resistance and viral load monitoring in clinical samples, which can revolutionize HIV patient care globally.