Identification of HIV-1 transmission clusters in Southeastern Austria by phylogenetic analysis.

Abstract

Background: Although the awareness of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) is rising on population level, the number of newly-infected persons per year continues to be high in Southeastern Austria. Therefore, deeper insight in the epidemiology of HIV-1 transmission in Southeast Austria is necessary to elaborate targeted prevention programs. Objectives: Aim of this study was to reconstruct the HIV-1 transmission network in Southeastern Austria. Demographic data, risk factors for HIV-1 infection, and HIV-1 subtypes were compared between individuals who clustered within the transmission network and those who did not cluster within the transmission network. Material and Methods: Partial HIV-1 pol sequences obtained from 259 individuals newly diagnosed with HIV infection from 2008 through 2014 and found to reside in Southeastern Austria were analyzed for genetic relatedness. A putative transmission linkage between two sequences was established if a genetic distance of

Date of Award	2017
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Medical University Graz
Supervisor	Harald Kessler (Supervisor) & Evelyn Stelzl (Co-supervisor)