Prevalence of Epstein - Barr virus Genotypes in Pakistani Transgender Sex Workers

Background: The strong association of transgender community with sex work has put them at a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections. We, for the first time, attempted to investigate the prevalence of Epstein- Barr virus genotypes in transgender sex workers of Pakistan. Methods: Blood samples of 40 HIV-1 seropositive transgender sex workers were screened out for Epstein-Barr virus detection and genotyping by extracting genomic DNA from all whole blood samples. Blood samples of 46 HIV seronegative transgender sex workers were also characterized for comparison. Information regarding, age, number of sex partners, sexual habits, etc. were collected on study-designed pro forma. Β-globin and EBER-1 were amplified to assess the quality and presence of EBV DNA. Analysis of EBNA-2 genotyping was done by nested PCR. Results: Among HIV-seropositive TSW's, EBV genotype determination was found in 60% of cases, of which, 62.5% and 29.16% were EBV-1 and EBV-2 respectively, while a coinfection of 8% was also observed. Among HIV-negative individuals, 78% were EBV-1, whereas EBV-2 genotype and co-infections were absent. All non-typable samples were amplified for the EBER-1 gene in both populations, confirming EBV genome in the samples. Conclusion: EBV-1 was the most common genotype of EBV in both HIV seropositive and seronegative samples, while EBV-2 and co-infection were observed only in HIV seropositive individuals.