Possible Changes in HIV Drug Resistance Pattern Due to Migration of People From the Eastern Europe to Poland

BACKGROUND:

According to the Polish governmental statistics during the year 2020 have come to Poland about 240 thousand of ukarinian migrants, and it is estimated that nowadays in Poland live and work about 1.2 million of people from Ukraine. In recent years substantial increases in diagnosis of HIV infected people have been reported in some countries, including Poland. At the same time 42% of those diagnosed in the EU/EEA in 2018 were migrants, defined as originating from outside of the country in which they were diagnosed. More than one-third (40%) of newly diagnosed cases due to heterosexual transmission were among migrants originating from countries with generalized HIV epidemics, such as Ukraine. Overall in the EU/ EEA, and even in some settings with decrease in newly diagnosed HIV infections in men having sex with others men (MSM), new HIV diagnoses in migrant MSM have not declined at the same rate as those who are not foreign-born. Antiretroviral treatment should be started immediately in all HIV-positive patients, regardless of origin, race, gender or sexual preferences. The choose of first-line antiretroviral regimen is based, among others, on epidemiological data and evidence of presence of drug resistance mutations in a the population.

AIM OF THE STUDY:

Due to changes in epidemiological pattern in newly diagnosed patients with HIV infection in Poland and increase in number of HIV positive patients from Ukraine we aimed to asses whether the presence of drug resistance mutations in the population of Ukrainian patients differs from the pattern of resistance of not foreign born patients with newly diagnosed HIV infection in Poland. The potential differences may have further implications on antiretroviral regimens in drug naive HIV positive patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: