Phylogenetic Analysis to Characterize the Regional HIV Transmission Among Newly Diagnosed HIV Cases in Houston

Incorporating phylogenetic analysis, HIV molecular surveillance data and traditional epidemiology information could provide a new approach to understand HIV clustering transmission patterns. This purpose of this study is to discover the characteristic of HIV transmission pattern among HIV newly diagnosed patients and relative risk factors in Houston. This study performed a phylogenetic analysis using HIV pol region to identify cluster membership in samples from the Texas Enhanced HIV/AIDS Reporting System (eHARcs). Raxml was used to reconstruct phylogenetic tree, using bootstrap values \u3e70% as a cut-off value to determine clustered sequences member. Cluster was defined with at least two different persons in a group. Univariate and multivariable analysis were used to estimate associations between demographic characterizes and cluster membership. From 2014 to 2016, of 713 sequences, 215 (30.12%) have a cluster membership with two different sequences. In this study, younger age group, the Hispanic group, and men who have sex with men were determined as risk factors to HIV clustering transmission. The study integrated phylogenetic analysis and traditional epidemiology method to provide an insightful perspective in identifying characteristics of cluster membership, intervention and prevention efforts should focus on the following risk groups such as younger age group, Hispanic people, and MSM