Detection of HIV transmission hotspots in British Columbia, Canada: A novel framework for the prioritization and allocation of treatment and prevention resources.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Identifying populations at high risk of HIV transmission is critical for prioritizing treatment and prevention resources and achieving the UNAIDS 90-90-90 Targets.

Methods

HIV transmission rates can be estimated from phylogenetic trees as viral lineage-level diversification rates. To identify HIV-1 transmission foci in British Columbia, Canada, we inferred diversification rates from phylogenetic trees of 36 271 HIV-1 sequences from 9630 anonymized individuals. Diversification rates were combined with sociodemographic and clinical data, then aggregated by patients' area of residence to predict the distribution of new HIV cases between 2008 and 2018. The predictive power of the model was compared with a phylogenetically uninformed model.

Findings

Aggregated d

SUBMITTER: McLaughlin A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6838403 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature