Title: Different epidemic potentials of the HIV-1B and C subtypes
Authors: Salemi M, de Oliveira T, Soares MA, Pybus O, Dumans AT, Vandamme AM, Tanuri A, Cassol S, Fitch WM.
Journal: J Mol Evol,60(5):598-605 (2005)
Abstract
HIV, the cause of AIDS in humans, is characterized by great genetic heterogeneity. In particular, HIV-1 group M subtypes are responsible for most of the infections worldwide. We investigate the demographic history of HIV-1B and HIV-1C subtypes in South Africa and Brazil using both a parametric and a nonparametric approach based on coalescent theory.
Our results show that although both subtypes are spreading exponentially in Brazil, the HIV-1C growth rate is about twice that of Brazilian HIV-1B or South African HIV-1C, providing evidence, for the first time, of a different epidemic potential between two HIV-1 subtypes.
The present study not only may have important consequences for devising future vaccination and therapeutic strategies, but also offers additional evidence that skyline plots are indeed a simple and powerful tool for monitoring and predicting the behavior of viral epidemics

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Citation: Salemi M, de Oliveira T, Soares MA, Pybus O, Dumans AT, Vandamme AM, Tanuri A, Cassol S, Fitch WM. Different epidemic potentials of the HIV-1B and C subtypes J Mol Evol,60(5):598-605 (2005).