Near Full Genome Characterization of HIV-1 Unique Recombinant Forms in Cameroon reveals dominant CRF02_AG and F2 recombination patterns

In Cameroon, a manifold diversity of HIV strains exists with CRF02_AG and unique recombinant forms (URFs) being the predominant strains. In recent years, a steady increase in URFs and clade F2 viruses has been monitored through partial genome sequencing. There is an information gap in the characterization of emerging URFs along the full genome, which is needed to address the challenges URFs pose towards diagnosis, treatment, and HIV-1 vaccine design.