Genomic surveillance of HIV infection in the Russian Federation

Over the past 30 years, the amount of sequencing data has increased significantly, including for human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Significant developments have also occurred in the field of bioinformatics. Because of this, first in science and then in practical healthcare, a new field has emerged — genomic surveillance. Currently, the possibilities of using bioinformatics methods are practically not described in Russian regulatory documents. This review outlines the main applications of genomic surveillance of HIV infection: analysis of HIV-1 drug resistance, investigation of HIV transmission, study of the characteristics of HIV occurrence and spread, assessment of the effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions, retrospective and operational analysis of the dynamics and structure of morbidity, and forecasting the development of the epidemic process. The review presents successful examples of domestic and international research, and makes proposals for the introduction of bioinformatics methods into the Russian system of epidemiological surveillance of HIV infection.