HIV-1 Genetic Diversity and Transmitted Drug Resistance Mutations in Art-Naive Individuals in Korea from 2021 to 2024

This study investigated the proportion and trend of transmitted drug resistance (TDR) mutations and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 subtypes among 487 antiretroviral therapy–naive individuals in Korea from 2021 to 2024 to inform better treatment strategies. Consistent with previous reports, subtype B was the most prevalent among HIV-1 subtypes at 50.7%; however, its proportion has decreased annually. The distribution of circulating recombinant forms has increased, leading to a high genetic diversity. The subtype distributions of Korean and non-Korean patients differed, with subtype B (53.7%) and CRF01_AE (34.4%) being dominant in the former and latter, respectively. TDR across antiretroviral drug classes was approximately 3.5% in Korea. Non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors elicited the highest level of drug resistance, which increased from 2021 to 2023, with a slight decrease in 2024. The integrase strand transfer inhibitor drugs, elvitegravir and raltegravir, most frequently exhibited high resistance scores. We provide a comprehensive overview of the HIV genetic distribution and TDR trends in Korea from 2021 to 2024. Within the broader context of HIV epidemiology in Asia and the Pacific, the findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the global distribution of HIV resistance and genotypes, enabling the development of effective interventions.