title: Phylogeographic reconstruction of HIV type 1B in Montenegro and the Balkan region.
abstract: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is one of the most genetically variable human viruses as it is characterized by high rates of mutation, viral replication, and recombination. Phylodynamics is a powerful means of describing the behavior of an infection as a combination of evolutionary and ecological processes. Only a few studies of HIV-1 molecular epidemiology have so far been carried out in the Balkans. In this study, we used Bayesian methods to reconstruct the phylogeography and phylodynamics of HIV-1B in Montenegro and some other Balkan countries on the basis of pol gene sequences retrieved from a public database. The phylogenetic analysis showed that 43% of the isolates grouped in accordance with their geographic area, whereas the majority were interspersed in the tree, thus confirming the multiple introductions of HIV-1B in the Balkans. The Bayesian phylogeographic analysis suggested that HIV-1B entered the Balkans in the early 1970s probably through Greece and other Mediterranean tourist/travel destinations (such as Slovenia). Other Balkan countries, such as Bulgaria and Serbia, may have played an important role in spreading the infection to the entire Eastern Mediterranean area, and possibly to Northeast Europe. This suggests that the Balkans may have played a role as a "gateway" between Western and Eastern Europe.
authors.affiliation: Epidemiology Unit, Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immune-Mediated Diseases, Italian Institute of Health, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciccozzi
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ebranati
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gabanelli
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Boban
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mugosa
authors.forename: Zoran
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Vratnica
authors.forename: Danijela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vujoševic
authors.forename: Dragan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lauševic
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ciotti
authors.forename: Eleonora
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cella
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lo Presti
authors.forename: Gianguglielmo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zehender
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D001499:Bayes Theorem; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005061:Europe, Eastern; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000635:transmission; D015497:HIV-1 / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult; D054302:pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral; D054302:pol Gene Products, Human Immunodeficiency Virus