Transmission of HIV and HCV within Former Soviet Union Countries

Lazzat Aibekova, Aizada Bexeitova, Arailym Aldabergenova, Gonzalo Hortelano, Zhangwen Ge, Yi Feng, Yiming Shao, Jack A. DeHovitz, Sten H. Vermund, Syed Ali

2020

Full text Open access: Gold Metadata (CSL-JSON)
DOI 10.1155/2020/9701920
Data confidence 70 medium
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Abstract

Background: Following the collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) in 1991, trans-border mobility increased within the former Soviet Union (FSU) countries. In addition, drug-trafficking and injection drug use began to rise, leading to the propagation and transmission of blood-borne infections within and across the FSU countries. To examine the transmission of blood-borne infections within this region, we analyzed the phylogenetic relationship of publically available sequences of two blood-borne viruses, hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), from FSU countries. Methods: sequences. To examine transmission networks and the origins of infection, respectively, phylogenetic and Bayesian analyses were performed. Results: Our analysis shows intermixing of HCV and HIV sequences, suggesting transmission of these viruses both within and across FSU countries. We show involvement of three major populations in transmission: injection drug user, heterosexual, and trans-border migrants. Conclusion: This study highlights the need to focus harm reduction efforts toward controlling transmission of blood-borne infections among the abovementioned high-risk populations in the FSU countries.