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Brazilian Journal of Clinical Medicine and Review

Perspective

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): January/December - 2025

Inferences about HIV Transmission: Phylogenetics in Forensic Science

DOI
https://doi.org/10.52600/2965-0968.bjcmr.2025.3.1.bjcmr2
Submitted
June 9, 2024
Published
2024-06-09

Abstract

Connecting people with infectious diseases is not only a matter of epidemiological interest but also has legal implications when the disease is transmitted during a criminal act or when there is a civil dispute for compensation made by an infected person who acquired the disease as a result of lifestyle or work-related accidents (such as needle injuries). When the disease is a consequence of crimes like rape, the characteristics can be useful in linking the criminal and the victim, and the transmission itself can be inferred as the criminal's responsibility. Using phylogenetics as an inference method, it is possible to analyze the viral population genomes of people infected with HIV. Brazil already has ongoing judicial cases and can indeed benefit from the aid of complementary evidence, especially molecular-level proof that can have high reliability.

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