Near full-length genomic sequencing and molecular analysis of HIV-infected individuals in a network-based intervention (TRIP) in Athens, Greece: evidence that transmissions occur more frequently from those with high HIV-RNA

Background: TRIP (Transmission Reduction Intervention Project) was a network-based, contact tracing approach to locate and link to care, mostly people who inject drugs (PWID) with recent HIV infection.Objective: We investigated whether sequences from HIV-infected participants with high viral load cluster together more frequently than what is expected by chance. Methods: Paired end reads were generated for 104 samples using Illumina MiSeq next-generation sequencing. Results: 63 sequences belonged to previously identified local transmission networks of PWID (LTNs) of an HIV outbreak in Athens, Greece. For two HIV-RNA cut-offs (105 and 106 IU/mL), HIV transmissions were more likely between PWID with similar levels of HIV-RNA (p106 IU/mL were clustered in 5 pairs. For 4 of these clusters (80%), there was in each one of them at least one sequence from a recently HIV-infected PWID. Conclusion: We showed that transmissions are more likely among PWID with high viremia. © 2018 Bentham Science Publishers.