@article {10.3844/ajidsp.2007.191.194, article_type = {journal}, title = {HIV-1 Infection and Drug-Abuse in India-An Emerging Challenge}, author = {Kumar, Mahendra and Kumar, Adarsh M. and Ownby, Raymond and Jones, Deborah L. and Waldrop-Valverde, Drenna}, volume = {3}, number = {4}, year = {2007}, month = {Dec}, pages = {191-194}, doi = {10.3844/ajidsp.2007.191.194}, url = {https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajidsp.2007.191.194}, abstract = {India has a population of over 1 billion and the first cases of HIV-1 infection were reported from there in 1987. Since then HIV-infection has spread there very aggressively and at present it is reported that there may be 5.7 millions individuals infected with HIV. Unlike the western countries where the infected HIV-1 virus belongs to clade B, in India it is clade C. A number of structural and functional differences in these two strains can lead to very different pathogenesis. What we know about pathogenesis due to HIV-1 infection is mostly due to studies carried out in the west where the infecting clade is B. Studies on clade C are very few and to meet this challenge research on HIV-1 C clade infection should be carried out on priority bases. Recently NIH funded projects in India are attempting to initiate research on HIV-1 infection. The epidemiology and belief systems in India are additional challenges to carrying out HIV research. There is an urgent need to initiate multi-disciplinary research.}, journal = {American Journal of Infectious Diseases}, publisher = {Science Publications} }