Near Full-Length Genome Identification of a Novel HIV-1 Unique (B/C) Recombinant Isolate in Sichuan, China

A novel HIV-1 unique recombinant virus (XC2014EU20) was identified. It was isolated from an HIV-positive man who was infected through heterosexual sex in Sichuan, China. The near full-length genome analyses showed that the novel recombinant was composed of three subtype B regions in a subtype C backbone. Different from the other circulating recombinant forms and unique recombinant forms, six recombinant breakpoints of XC2014EU20 with seven fragments were observed in the pol, vpu, and nef genes, respectively. The emergence of B/C recombinant strain indicated the increasing complexity of the HIV-1 epidemic in Sichuan, China.