1. Circulation of HIV-1 CRF02_AG among MSM population in central Italy: a molecular epidemiology-based study.
- Author
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Giuliani M, Santoro MM, Lo Presti A, Cella E, Scognamiglio P, Lai A, Latini A, Fabeni L, Gori C, Pinnetti C, Girardi E, Perno CF, Zehender G, and Ciccozzi M
- Subjects
- Bayes Theorem, Female, HIV Infections epidemiology, HIV Infections virology, HIV-1 pathogenicity, Homosexuality, Male, Humans, Italy epidemiology, Male, Retrospective Studies, Sex, HIV Infections genetics, HIV-1 genetics, Molecular Epidemiology, Phylogeny
- Abstract
Introduction: The evolutionary and demographic history of the circular recombinant form CRF02_AG in a selected retrospective group of HIV-1 infected men who have sex with men (MSM) resident in Central Italy was investigated., Methods: A total of 55 HIV-1 subtype CRF02_AG pol sequences were analyzed using Bayesian methods and a relaxed molecular clock to reconstruct their dated phylogeny and estimate population dynamics., Results: Dated phylogeny indicated that the HIV-1 CRF02_AG strains currently circulating in Central Italy originated in the early 90's. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis revealed the existence of a main HIV-1 CRF02_AG clade, introduced in the area of Rome before 2000 and subsequently differentiated in two different subclades with a different date of introduction (2000 versus 2005). All the sequences within clusters were interspersed, indicating that the MSM analyzed form a close and restricted network where the individuals, also moving within different clinical centers, attend the same places to meet and exchange sex., Conclusions: It was suggested that the HIV-1 CRF02_AG epidemic entered central Italy in the early 1990s, with a similar trend observed in western Europe.
- Published
- 2013
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