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Updated: Mar 30, 2026
A Restriction Enzyme Based Cloning Method to Assess the In vitro Replication Capacity of HIV-1 Subtype C Gag-MJ4 Chimeric Viruses
Published on: August 31, 2014
An epidemiological investigation to reconstruct a probable human immunodeficiency virus-1 transmission network: a
Sara Serafino1, Eleonora Cella2,3, Claudia Montagna4
1Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. serafino.sara@gmail.com.
Background:
Recently published studies have highlighted the importance of phylogenetic and phylodynamic analyses in supporting epidemiological investigations to reconstruct the transmission network of human immunodeficiency virus. Here, we report a case of sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 between a man and a woman that marks once more the importance of a tightened collaboration between phylogeny and epidemiology.
Case Presentation:
We describe a case of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 subtype B transmission in a stable Caucasian heterosexual couple. The man was 30 years old and the woman was 21 years old at the time of their presentation to the Department of Public Health and Infectious Diseases of the University of Rome "Sapienza". The couple reported a history of drug abuse.
Conclusion:
Phylogenetic analysis is a powerful technique that if properly used can prove valuable in research investigations. In the case presented here, a phylogenetic analysis alongside epidemiological evidence allowed us to determine the most probable source of the human immunodeficiency virus infection. The dated tree allowed us to date the transmission event, the time point, and the direction of transmission based on the phylogeny, which agreed with the presumptive time of infection determined from clinical history-taking.
