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HIV pol sequences have been used to define possible transmission clusters within specific populations such as geographically defined groups, those with particular HIV risk factors, those with recently acquired HIV infection, and those with suspected epidemiologic linkages. If the compared sequences have ≤1.5% genetic difference from one another, the sequences are considered a likely transmission cluster. Using data collected from 3700 HIV-infected patients at five sites across the U.S. from 2000 through 2009, researchers sought to determine whether HIV pol sequencing could be used to identify possible transmission networks in larger population groups.
Overall, 24% of sequences were considered to be clustered, mostly in groups of two, althoug…