Figure 3. Trends in time of escape mutations identified through negative ORs in both B and F viral subtypes.

The four mutations identified are currently in the majority of circulating HIV strains, regardless of viral subtype. However, analysis of their prevalence back in time showed that in the early years of epidemic they dominated only one of either the B or F subtype while they were in a low prevalence in the other subtype. This means that they have accumulated in time and driven a convergence of viral subtypes toward variants more able to evade the immune response of the human hosts.