African Services Committee is on the forefront of educating doctors who treat immigrants with HIV about diverse strains of the virus. We have established relationships with the New York City Department of Health, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center and many other research and pharmaceutical facilities throughout the United States.

In the last decade, divergent HIV strains have proliferated in different regions of the world. While HIV-1 subtype B is prevalent in the United States and Europe, subtypes A-G and subtype recombinants have been identified worldwide. New regional epidemics may be associated with strains previously under-recognized.

The prevalence of HIV-1 non-B subtypes is now increasing in some urban areas of the United States.

However, routine screening for non-B subtypes has yet to be conducted, except in some immigrant populations in New York and Maryland.

Furthermore, the only FDA-approved viral load test can underestimate the viral burden of some subtypes. Inaccurate viral load results can make it difficult for clinicians to monitor disease progression and make informed treatment decisions.