The Molecular Epidemiology of a Heterosexual Subtype B HIV Epidemic: the Latest Results from the Caribbean

Introduction The HIV epidemic in the Caribbean is one of the few epidemics in the world that is dominated by subtype B and has a heterosexual transmission pattern. Close examination of the Caribbean subtype B viruses by full genome sequencing may shed light on the epidemic. Methods: Serum samples from Trinidad and Tobago (TT), Jamaica (JM), Haiti (HT) and the Dominican Republic (DO) were collected for characterization. CDNA synthesized from viral RNA was PCR amplified and sequenced with an ABI 3100 sequencer.