BibTex format
@article{Hartley:2026:10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108759,
author = {Hartley, J and Kelly, S and Team, VS and Kemp, SA and Hanekom, W and Ndungu, T and Wong, EB and Tanser, F and Siedner, MJ and Chindimbi, N and Shahmanseh, M and Ratmann, O and Gupta, RK},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108759},
journal = {International Journal of Infectious Diseases},
title = {Moderately age-disparate relationships dominate phylogenetically linked pairs involving young women with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108759},
volume = {169},
year = {2026}
}
RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)
TY - JOUR
AB - ObjectivesYoung women aged 15-24 years bear a disproportionate burden of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections in sub-Saharan Africa. Age-disparate relationships with older men have been proposed as a major contributor to this pattern.MethodsWe conducted whole-genome sequencing of HIV in large cohort of individuals in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (the Vukuzazi cohort). Samples with viral loads >50 copies/mL were sequenced. Genomes passing quality control were grouped into clusters using maximum likelihood phylogenetic analysis. Potential transmission pairs were analyzed alongside participant age and sex data. A Bayesian random-effects model estimated transmission rates between demographic groups while accounting for population age-sex structure.ResultsAmong 18,025 participants enrolled in 2018-2020, 6096 were HIV-positive. Sequencing yielded 1097 genomes, identifying 89 clusters containing 205 individuals and 73 likely male-female linked phylogenetic pairs. Across pairs, men were a median of 5 years older than women (interquartile range −1 to 12). Women aged <30 years paired with men aged a median of 7 years older, whereas among women aged ≥30 years men were typically younger. After accounting for population structure, the strongest signal for transmission was between women aged 25-29 years and men up to 4 years older.ConclusionRelative transmission rates were greatest with moderate age differences. Large intergenerational age gaps were not dominant.
AU - Hartley,J
AU - Kelly,S
AU - Team,VS
AU - Kemp,SA
AU - Hanekom,W
AU - Ndungu,T
AU - Wong,EB
AU - Tanser,F
AU - Siedner,MJ
AU - Chindimbi,N
AU - Shahmanseh,M
AU - Ratmann,O
AU - Gupta,RK
DO - 10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108759
PY - 2026///
SN - 1201-9712
TI - Moderately age-disparate relationships dominate phylogenetically linked pairs involving young women with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
T2 - International Journal of Infectious Diseases
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108759
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijid.2026.108759
VL - 169
ER -