Panel Presentation: HIV-1 Genotyping Targeting Integrase - Perspectives on Surveillance of Antiretroviral Drug Resistance

Globally, in 2020, 38 million people were living with HIV with an additional 1.5 million newly infected. During this period, 73% of those living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy (WHO HIV-AIDS). Effective suppression of viral replication, and thus transmission, is dependent upon administering the most appropriate antiretroviral (ARV) therapies. HIV-1 genotyping surveillance serves as a highly effective tool to characterize and monitor the epidemiology and genetic evolution of drug resistance mutations in the global population, helping to ensure that the most effective ARVs are available in a given population. Insight into the state of HIV-1 drug resistance for ARVs targeting integrase is limited in many parts of the world due to historically restricted access to integrase-targeting genotyping products and the ARVs themselves.
 
During this webinar, we will focus on the state of HIV-1 evolution in light of the WHO HIV Drug Resistance Report for 2021 by discussing the surveillance efforts in South Africa and highlight the workflow and validation data of a new surveillance tool, the Applied BiosystemsTM HIV-1 Genotyping Kit with Integrase, which targets protease, reverse-transcriptase and integrase inhibitors.  Dr. Kim Steegen will share her perspective on the prevalence of HIV-1 drug resistance and surveillance efforts in South Africa. In addition, Dr. Natasha Wood from Hyrax Biosciences will discuss the ExatypeTM Sanger HIV genotyping data analysis solution and share insights gained on identifying transmission and evolutionary dynamics of HIV. Lastly, Dr. Stephen Williams, with Thermo Fisher Scientific, will share details of the design, workflow, and validation data of this new kit. The conclusion will be a panel discussion with the three speakers aimed to re-emphasize the learning objectives and provide additional perspective on the current state, lessons learned, and possibilities for future endeavors in the on-going evolution of HIV.
 
Learning Objectives:

1. Analyze the state of HIV-1 genotyping in public health surveillance research and the results from local efforts in South Africa to monitor the state of HIV evolution.

2. Discuss how Sanger sequencing addresses local surveillance needs in various communities and hear thoughts regarding the future trends in HIV-1 genotyping for genetic and epidemiologic surveillance.

3. Describe how the Exatype platform can simplify transmission studies and surveillance monitoring of HIV.

4. Discuss the workflow of and review validation data for the Applied BiosystemsTM HIV-1 Genotyping Kit with Integrase from sample extraction from dried blood spots and plasma, through Sanger sequencing, to data analysis and results interpretation.