The majority of HIV infections in the United States can be traced back to a single introduction in late 1960s or early 1970s. However, it remains unclear whether subsequent introductions of HIV into the United States have given rise to onward transmission. Genetic transmission networks can aid in understanding HIV transmission. We constructed a genetic distance-based transmission network using HIV-1 pol sequences reported to the U.S. National HIV Surveillance System (n = 41,539) and all publicly available non-U.S. HIV-1 pol sequences (n = 86,215). Of the 13,145 U.S. persons clustered in the network, 457 (3.5%) were genetically linked to a potential transmission partner outside the United States. For internationally connected persons residing in but born outside the United States, 61% had a connection to their country of birth or to another country that shared a language with their country of birth. Bayesian molecular clock phylogenetic analyses indicate that introduced nonsubtype B infections have resulted in onward transmission within the United States.
Keywords: HIV; cluster; molecular clock; surveillance; transmission network.