HIV phylogenetics

doi:10.1136/bmj.39315.398843.BE

BMJ 2007;335:460-461 (8 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.39315.398843.BE

Editorials

HIV phylogenetics

Criminal convictions relying solely on this to establish transmissionare unsafe

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The recent flurry of criminal cases brought against people inthe United Kingdom accused of infecting their sexual partner(s)with HIV has resulted in several convictions. This has causedconcern among health professionals and community groups aboutthe detrimental effect such cases may have on disclosure ofHIV infection and uptake of voluntary HIV testing, which contrastswith the move to normalise HIV testing and clinical care. Thepotential negative effect of this on the public health programmeto reduce transmission of HIV has been widely discussed in thesepages¹ ² and elsewhere.³

Virological evidence, specifically HIV gene sequence data obtainedfrom the defendant and complainant, has been used in these casesbecause a prerequisite for establishing criminal liability isthat the defendant caused the complainant's infection. BecauseHIV-1, like other RNA viruses, evolves rapidly, the virus isolatedfrom independently infected people is typically distinct. Theextent of similarity between viruses . . . [Full text of this article]

Deenan Pillay, professor of virology¹, Andrew Rambaut, senior research fellow², Anna Maria Geretti, consultant medical virologist³, Andrew J Leigh Brown, professor of evolutionary genetics⁴

¹ University College London, London W1T 4JF and Centre for Infections, Health Protection Agency, London NW9 5EQ, ² Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT, ³ Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2PF, ⁴ Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3JT

d.pillay@ucl.ac.uk