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- Title
Natural selection favoring more transmissible HIV detected in United States molecular transmission network.
- Authors
Wertheim, Joel O.; Oster, Alexandra M.; Switzer, William M.; Zhang, Chenhua; Panneer, Nivedha; Campbell, Ellsworth; Saduvala, Neeraja; Johnson, Jeffrey A.; Heneine, Walid
- Abstract
HIV molecular epidemiology can identify clusters of individuals with elevated rates of HIV transmission. These variable transmission rates are primarily driven by host risk behavior; however, the effect of viral traits on variable transmission rates is poorly understood. Viral load, the concentration of HIV in blood, is a heritable viral trait that influences HIV infectiousness and disease progression. Here, we reconstruct HIV genetic transmission clusters using data from the United States National HIV Surveillance System and report that viruses in clusters, inferred to be frequently transmitted, have higher viral loads at diagnosis. Further, viral load is higher in people in larger clusters and with increased network connectivity, suggesting that HIV in the United States is experiencing natural selection to be more infectious and virulent. We also observe a concurrent increase in viral load at diagnosis over the last decade. This evolutionary trajectory may be slowed by prevention strategies prioritized toward rapidly growing transmission clusters. Here, the authors use a molecular epidemiological approach to investigate the frequency and intensity of clustering of HIV with different set-point viral loads and find that frequently transmitted strains in genetic transmission clusters have significantly higher viral loads than nonclustered viruses.
- Subjects
UNITED States; MOLECULAR epidemiology; HIV infection epidemiology; HIV infection transmission; HIV infection genetics; DIAGNOSIS of HIV infections; VIRAL load; DISEASE progression; PUBLIC health
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2019, Vol 10, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-019-13723-z