Introduction of Phylodynamics for Controlling the HIV/AIDS Epidemic in Korea

Abstract

As over 1000 new cases of HIV/AIDS occur in Korea annually, preventive health programs against HIV/AIDS are urgently needed. Since phylodynamic studies have been suggested as a way to understand how infectious diseases are transmitted and evolve, phylodynamic inferences can be a useful tool for HIV/AIDS research. In particular, phylodynamic models are helpful for dating the origins of an epidemic and estimating its basic reproduction number. Thus, the introduction of phylodynamics would be a highly valuable step towards controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Korea.

Keywords

• Infectious disease transmission
• Molecular epidemiology
• Biological evolution
• Human immunodeficiency virus
• Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
• Epidemics