Authors
Marina Escalera-Zamudio, Eduardo Lopez Ortiz, Claudia Garcia Morales, Erika Cruz-Bonilla, Shaday Guerrero Flores, Steven Weaver, Margarita Matias Florentino, Daniela Tapia Trejo, Vanessa Davila Conn, Roberto Cardenas Porras, Eduardo Zarza Sanchez, Silvia Del Arenal Sanchez, Jorge Gutierrez Soto, Karina Nava Memije, Jessica Monreal Flores, Alejandro Guzman, Rebecca Garcia Mendiola, Patricia Iracheta, Veronica Ruiz Gonzalez, Veronica Quiroz Morales, Israel Macias Gonzalez, Manuel Becerril Rodriguez, Raul Cruz Flores, Andrea Gonzalez Rodriguez, Dulce Lopez Sanchez, Miroslava Cardenas Sandoval, Maria Beristain Barreda, Maribel Hernandez-Rosales, Simon Dellicour, Tetyana Vasylyeva, Joel Wertheim, Santiago Avila Rios
Published in
Research square. Jun 16, 2026. Epub Jun 16, 2026.
Abstract
Understanding HIV transmission in densely populated urban settings is essential to mitigate ongoing epidemic spread. We present a comprehensive analysis of recent HIV transmission dynamics in Greater Mexico City, one of the world's largest metropolitan areas comprising Mexico City and neighbouring municipalities of the State of Mexico. Drawing from over 7,000 complete pol gene sequences representing around 50% of new cases reported between 2019 and 2022 within the study region, we reconstructed the transmission network based on pairwise genetic distance. We identified ten large transmission clusters exhibiting sustained growth up to the most recent sampling period. We further analysed paired genetic and high- resolution human mobility data using an integrated phylogeographic approach. We observed a heterogeneous pattern of viral spread across the region, supported by an extensive mixing at a wider geographic scale. Across Greater Mexico City, displaying a high population density, HIV transmission is minimally spatially constrained, a pattern likely fuelled by intense human mobility. Thus, population movement weakens isolation by distance in large urban areas even for a chronic infection that is sexually and vertically transmitted. We demonstrate the value of integrating large-scale genetic, epidemiological, and mobility data to resolve contemporary HIV transmission dynamics in densely populated urban settings.
PMID:
42370292
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 29 Jun 2026.
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