Location:
The Kirby Institute Level 6 Seminar Room Wallace Wurth Building UNSW Australia Sydney NSW 2052
Open to
All
Contact for enquiries
Rata Joseph +61 (0)2 9385 0900 rjoseph@kirby.unsw.edu.au
The Kirby Institute is pleased to present:
Mr Brendan Jacka-PhD Student,Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program, Kirby Institute
"Transmission of Hepatitis C virus infection among younger and older people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada."
Ms Sofia Bartlett-PhD Student- Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program, Kirby Institute
"Phylogenetics of recently acquired Hepatitis C virus infection in Australia."
"Transmission of Hepatitis C virus infection among younger and older people who inject drugs in Vancouver, Canada."
Abstract: Understanding HCV transmission among people who inject drugs (PWID) is important for designing prevention strategies. This study aimed to investigate whether HCV infection among younger injectors occurs as a result of few or many transmission events from older injectors to younger injectors among PWID in cohorts recruited in Vancouver, Canada. Among 655 participants with HCV subtype 1a, 2b and 3a infection (26% female, 23% HIV+): 22% were younger (<27 years), and 11% had recent HCV seroconversion. When inferred cluster age was limited to <5 years, 15% (n=100) were in clusters/pairs. Although a moderate degree of segregation was observed between younger and older participants, there was also transmission between age groups. Younger age and HIV co-infection were independently associated with clustering. In this population of PWID from Vancouver, HCV infection among young injectors was seeded from many transmission events between HCV-infected older injectors and younger injectors. Phylogenetic clustering was associated with younger age and HIV co-infection. These data suggest that HCV transmission among PWID is complex, with transmission occurring between and among older and younger PWID.
Bio: Brendan has recently completed a PhD within the Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program under the supervision of Assoc Prof Jason Grebely, Dr Tanya Applegate and Prof Gregory Dore. In the course of the project, Brendan’s research focused on population-based sequencing of the HCV genome, and the application of molecular epidemiology to understand HCV transmission among people who inject drugs. A systematic review of HCV sequencing methodologies informed the development of a novel HCV sequencing methodology within the laboratory group by Francois Lamoury under the supervision of Dr Applegate. Subsequently, this methodology has been applied in Brendan’s research project based in Vancouver, Canada in addition to a number of different epidemics of HCV in Australia and British Columbia, Canada. Brendan’s future research objective is to apply both previously validated and novel phylogenetic and virological methodologies to investigate viral transmission dynamics in existing samples from well-characterised cohorts.
"Phylogenetics of recently acquired Hepatitis C virus infection in Australia."
Abstract: This study aimed to investigate transmission and factors associated with phylogenetic clustering among people with recently acquired hepatitis C virus infection in Australia and reconstruct the molecular transmission network. It was found that 22% of participants demonstrated phylogenetic clustering and clustering was independently associated with HIV co-infection and HCV G1a infection.
Bio: Sofia Bartlett is a PhD candidate in the Viral Hepatitis Clinical Research Program. Her project is a multidisciplinary study utilising molecular biology laboratory techniques, phylogenetics and epidemiology to study the transmission of Hepatitis C Virus infection in Australia.