The Novel CRFs Reveals Higher Prevalence of Superinfection of HIV in China

Recombination is one of the most important forces driving HIV evolution with a way of large genetic fragment replacement. It is estimated that recombination occurs at more than 2.8 crossovers per genome per cycle The novel recombinant having the distinct structure with its parent's sequences is the product of at least two kinds of subtypes or CRFs. Therefore, the frequently prevalence or appearance of a novel Circulating Recombinant Form (CRF) implies the prevalence of super-infection of various HIV in a local area. Since the first CRF of HIV CRF01_AE was identified in 1996, 72 CRFs and hundreds URF was identified During recent years, a lot of CRFs or URFs was reported, especially in Southeast Asia.