SENV infection in HIV-positive patients: Prevalence, subtype characterization, and impact on HIV disease progression

Among 165 HIV- infected patients, prevalence of SEN virus ( SENV) infection was 51.5%, with subtype A predominance and unique SENV variant ( 67%), but also SENV superinfections with multiple variants were frequent. High prevalence, superinfection and broad SENV subtype diversification have been demonstrated, all linked to intravenous drug use ( IVDU) as a risk factor for HIV acquisition. At multivariate analysis, SENV infection did not appear to have any negative impact on survival, while a possible protective effect needs further investigation.