TY - JOUR
T1 - HIV-1 Infection in Cyprus, the Eastern Mediterranean European Frontier
T2 - A Densely Sampled Transmission Dynamics Analysis from 1986 to 2012
AU - Pineda-Peña, Andrea Clemencia
AU - Theys, Kristof
AU - Stylianou, Dora C.
AU - Demetriades, Ioannis
AU - Puchhammer, Elisabeth
AU - Vandamme, Anne Mieke
AU - Aleksiev, Ivailo
AU - Lepej, Snjezana Zidovec
AU - Linka, Marek
AU - Fonager, Jannik
AU - Liitsola, Kirsi
AU - Kaiser, Rolf
AU - Hamouda, Osamah
AU - Paraskevis, Dimitrios
AU - Coughlan, Suzie
AU - Grossman, Zehava
AU - Mor, Orna
AU - Zazzi, Maurizio
AU - Griskevicius, Algirdas
AU - Lipnickiene, Vilnele
AU - Devaux, Carole
AU - Boucher, Charles
AU - Hofstra, Marije
AU - Wensing, Annemarie
AU - Bakken-Kran, Anne Marte
AU - Horban, Andrzej
AU - Camacho, Ricardo
AU - Paraschiv, Simona
AU - Otelea, Dan
AU - Stanojevic, Maja
AU - Stanekova, Danika
AU - Poljak, Mario
AU - Garcia, Federico
AU - Paredes, Roger
AU - Albert, Jan
AU - Abecasis, Ana B.
AU - Kostrikis, Leondios G.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Since HIV-1 treatment is increasingly considered an effective preventionstrategy, it is important to study local HIV-1 epidemics to formulate tailored preventionpolicies. The prevalence of HIV-1 in Cyprus was historically low until 2005. To investigatethe shift in epidemiological trends, we studied the transmission dynamics of HIV-1 in Cyprususing a densely sampled Cypriot HIV-1 transmission cohort that included 85 percent ofHIV-1-infected individuals linked to clinical care between 1986 and 2012 based on detailedclinical, epidemiological, behavioral and HIV-1 genetic information. Subtyping andtransmission cluster reconstruction were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesianmethods, and the transmission chain network was linked to the clinical, epidemiological andbehavioral data. The results reveal that for the main HIV-1 subtype A1 and B sub-epidemics,young and drug-naïve HIV-1-infected individuals in Cyprus are driving the dynamics of thelocal HIV-1 epidemic. The results of this study provide a better understanding of thedynamics of the HIV-1 infection in Cyprus, which may impact the development of preventionstrategies. Furthermore, this methodology for analyzing densely sampled transmissiondynamics is applicable to other geographic regions to implement effective HIV-1 preventionstrategies in local settings.
AB - Since HIV-1 treatment is increasingly considered an effective preventionstrategy, it is important to study local HIV-1 epidemics to formulate tailored preventionpolicies. The prevalence of HIV-1 in Cyprus was historically low until 2005. To investigatethe shift in epidemiological trends, we studied the transmission dynamics of HIV-1 in Cyprususing a densely sampled Cypriot HIV-1 transmission cohort that included 85 percent ofHIV-1-infected individuals linked to clinical care between 1986 and 2012 based on detailedclinical, epidemiological, behavioral and HIV-1 genetic information. Subtyping andtransmission cluster reconstruction were performed using maximum likelihood and Bayesianmethods, and the transmission chain network was linked to the clinical, epidemiological andbehavioral data. The results reveal that for the main HIV-1 subtype A1 and B sub-epidemics,young and drug-naïve HIV-1-infected individuals in Cyprus are driving the dynamics of thelocal HIV-1 epidemic. The results of this study provide a better understanding of thedynamics of the HIV-1 infection in Cyprus, which may impact the development of preventionstrategies. Furthermore, this methodology for analyzing densely sampled transmissiondynamics is applicable to other geographic regions to implement effective HIV-1 preventionstrategies in local settings.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85041118980&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1038/s41598-017-19080-5
DO - 10.1038/s41598-017-19080-5
M3 - Article
C2 - 29374182
AN - SCOPUS:85041118980
SN - 2045-2322
VL - 8
JO - Scientific Reports
JF - Scientific Reports
IS - 1
M1 - 1702
ER -
