title: Molecular epidemiology of HIV type 1 CRF02_AG in Cameroon and African patients living in Italy.
abstract: HIV-1 CRF02_AG accounts for >50% of infected individuals in Cameroon. CRF02_AG prevalence has been increasing both in Africa and Europe, particularly in Italy because of migrations from the sub-Saharan region. This study investigated the molecular epidemiology of CRF02_AG in Cameroon by employing Bayesian phylodynamics and analyzed the relationship between HIV-1 CRF02_AG isolates circulating in Italy and those prevalent in Africa to understand the link between the two epidemics. Among 291 Cameroonian reverse transcriptase sequences analyzed, about 70% clustered within three distinct clades, two of which shared a most recent common ancestor, all related to sequences from Western Africa. The major Cameroonian clades emerged during the mid-1970s and slowly spread during the next 30 years. Little or no geographic structure was detected within these clades. One of the major driving forces of the epidemic was likely the high accessibility between locations in Southern Cameroon contributing to the mobility of the population. The remaining Cameroonian sequences and the new strains isolated from Italian patients were interspersed mainly within West and Central African sequences in the tree, indicating a continuous exchange of CRF02_AG viral strains between Cameroon and other African countries, as well as multiple independent introductions in the Italian population. The evaluation of the spread of CRF02_AG may provide significant insight about the future dynamics of the Italian and European epidemic.
authors: Department of Pathology, Immunology, and Laboratory Medicine, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, USA.
authors: Nazle Mendonca Collaço
authors: NM
authors: Véras
authors: Maria Mercedes
authors: MM
authors: Santoro
authors: Rebecca R
authors: RR
authors: Gray
authors: Andrew J
authors: AJ
authors: Tatem
authors: Alessandra
authors: A
authors: Lo Presti
authors: Flaminia
authors: F
authors: Olearo
authors: Giulia
authors: G
authors: Cappelli
authors: Vittorio
authors: V
authors: Colizzi
authors: Desiré
authors: D
authors: Takou
authors: Judith
authors: J
authors: Torimiro
authors: Gianluca
authors: G
authors: Russo
authors: Annapaola
authors: A
authors: Callegaro
authors: Romina
authors: R
authors: Salpini
authors: Roberta
authors: R
authors: D'Arrigo
authors: Carlo-Federico
authors: CF
authors: Perno
authors: Maureen M
authors: MM
authors: Goodenow
authors: Massimo
authors: M
authors: Ciccozzi
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Salemi
mesh_terms: D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002163:Cameroon / Q000453:epidemiology; D058872:Epidemics; D005828:Genetics, Population; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase / Q000235:genetics; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D017720:Molecular Epidemiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: C514824:reverse transcriptase, Human immunodeficiency virus 1; D054303:HIV Reverse Transcriptase