HIV-1 Transmission among Injecting Drug Users is Principally Derived from Local Circulating Strains in Guangxi, China

The mode of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission via injection drug use (IDU) still exists, and the recent shift in IDU-related transmission of HIV infection is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to analyze the spatiotemporal sources and dynamics of HIV-1 transmission through IDU in Guangxi. We performed a molecular epidemiological investigation of infections across Guangxi from 2009 to 2019. Phylogenetic and Bayesian time-geographic analyses of HIV-1 sequences were performed to confirm the characteristics of transmission between IDUs in combination with epidemiological data. Among the 535 subjects, CRF08_BC (57.4%), CRF01_AE (28.4%), and CRF07_BC (10.7%) were the top 3 HIV strains; 72.6% of infections were linked to other provinces in the transmission network; 93.6% of sequence-transmitted strains were locally endemic, with the rest coming from other provinces, predominantly Guangdong and Yunnan; 92.1% of the HIV transmission among people who inject drugs tended to be transmitted between HIV-positive IDUs. HIV recombinants were high diversity, and circulating local strains were the transmission sources among IDUs in Guangxi. However, there were still cases of IDUs linked to other provinces. Coverage of traditional prevention strategies should be expanded, and inter-provincial collaboration between Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guangdong provinces should be strengthened.