Masters Degrees (Virology)
Recent Submissions
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Identifying novel transcriptional regulatory elements of HLA-A alleles through the evaluation of the 5’ un-translated region sequences.
(2020)Sub-Saharan Africa holds approximately half the population living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the world (~19.6 million), of which around 7.2 million cases are found in South Africa. Although antiretroviral ... -
Identifying the cellular HIV-1 reservoir in lymph nodes of antiretroviral therapy suppressed individuals.
(2019)HIV-1 infection is suppressed but not cured in the face of antiretroviral therapy (ART). Pinpointing the cellular HIV-1 reservoir, which allows HIV-1 to persist, is key to the eradication of the virus. Lymph nodes are known ... -
The differential influence of HIV-1 subtype C,nucleoside analog resistance mutations: K65R, A62V, S68N and Y115F susceptibility to tenofovir.
(2019)The use of Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumerate (TDF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection has been recommended for the first-line as well as a second-line antiretroviral regimen in South Africa, due to its high antiretroviral ... -
Genetic and functional diversity of central nervous system (CNS) derived Human Immunodeficiency Virus type 1 (HIV-1) tat from Tuberculous Meningitis (TBM) patients.
(2018)INTRODUCTION Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) transactivator of transcription (tat) is a regulatory gene that encodes the transactivator of transcription Tat protein. The Tat effectively increases the activity ... -
Functional characterization of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C transmitted/founder (T/F) viruses long terminal repeat (LTR) variants and association with disease outcome.
(2020)Background: The persistence of latent viral reservoirs is a major roadblock to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) cure development. Latent reservoirs harbour transcriptionally silent yet replication competent ... -
Sequence analysis of an HIV-1 subtype C acutely infected cohort from Durban, South Africa.
(2018)The Human Immunodeficiency Virus is a global public health concern. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS estimated that 36.9 million people were infected with HIV globally at the end of 2017. Almost 20% of these ... -
The influence of HIV-1 genomic target region selection and sequence length on the accuracy of inferred phylogenies and clustering outcomes.
(2017)To improve the methodology of HIV-1 cluster analysis, we addressed how analysis of HIV-1 clustering is associated with parameters that can affect the outcome of viral clustering. The extent of HIV clustering, tree ... -
Prevalence of minority HIV-1 drug resistant quasi-species in children patients at virologic failure in a rural KwaZulu-Natal cohort.
(2016)Abstract available in PDF file. -
In vitro testing of the predicted viral fitness landscape for the HIV-1 Nef protein.
(2015)Abstract available in PDF file. -
Characterizing protease inhibitor failure in HIV-1 subtype C, using ultra deep pyro-sequencing and homology modelling.
(2015)The extensive roll-out of combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) has significantly improved the life expectancy for HIV-1 infected individuals in South Africa. Despite the inclusion of potent Protease Inhibitors (PIs) ... -
Minority HIV-1 drug resistance mutations in patients failing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
(2014)Abstract not available. -
Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (ASPCR) to detect resistance mutations in minor variants of HIV-1 subtype C in patients failing highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART).
(2014)The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) as one of the preferred first-line antiretrovirals (ARVs). TDF and Abacavir (ABC) were introduced into the South African National ... -
Nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors-associated mutations in the RNase H region of HIV-1 isolates in South African adults and children failing highly active antiretroviral therapy.
(2012)Background: The South African national treatment program includes NRTIs in both first and second line highly active antiretroviral therapy regimens. Recently, mutations in the RNase H domain have been associated with ... -
An investigation of virologic failure and the spectrum of drug resistance mutations in a paediatric ART programme in rural KZN, SA.
(2014)Background Better understanding of drug resistance patterns in HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy (ART) is required to inform public health policies in high prevalence settings. The aim of this study was to ... -
Molecular epidemiology of HIV-2 infection in KwaZulu-Natal Provnce, South Africa.
(2013)Infection with HIV-2 has important implications for the diagnosis, treatment and management of the infection. The objective of this study was to describe the seroprevalence and molecular epidemiology of HIV-2 in KwaZulu-Natal ... -
The role of the protease cleavage sites in viral fitness and drug resistance in HIV-1 subtype C.
(2010)There is an increasing number of patients failing second line highly active antiretroviral therapy (AZT, DDI and LPV/r) in South Africa, where HIV-1 subtype C predominates. Mutations at gag cleavage sites (CS) have ... -
Impact of p2/NC cleavage site polymorphisms on HIV-1 subtype C viral fitness.
(2012)Subtype C accounts for the majority of HIV infections and in South Africa, is the dominant subtype. The Gag cleavage sites of subtype C viruses show a high degree of natural variation compared to subtype B and group M ... -
The application of DNA hybridisation methods to a determination of the association of hepatitis B virus with cirrhosis and hepatoma.
(1987)Autopsy liver material from patients having died of chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and causes unrelated to liver diseases was examined by dot blot hybridisation for the presence of HBV ... -
An investigation into the serological and molecular diagnosis of Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus (JSRV)
(2005)The Jaagsiekte Sheep Retrovirus (JSRV), an exogenous type B/D-retrovirus with about 10-15 endogenous counterparts in all normal sheep genomes, causes Jaagsiekte (JS) or ovine pulmonary adenocarcinoma (OPA), a contagious ...