HIV has become a chronic, manageable condition since the introduction of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in the late 1990s.
Today, however, some individuals are becoming infected with strains of HIV that are resistant to some HIV treatments, making “preferred” first-line cART regimens ineffective. This is called transmitted drug resistance. Additionally, some patients’ virus becomes resistant to one or more antiretroviral drugs during therapy – acquired drug resistance – compromising the effectiveness of therapy in the individual.
This project aims to document the rates and types of mutations associated with drug resistance being acquired by Victorian patients diagnosed with HIV and how this is changing over time.
It will also examine risk factors associated with acquired drug resistance during HIV therapy. By understanding the rates and risk factors for drug resistance, this project will inform the optimised use of life saving, effective HIV treatments.
