Forensics in HIV Transmission Crimes

Abstract

Forensic microbiology is a scientific area that has emerged with the need to investigate biocrimes, as in the case of intentional transmission of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). The present exploratory work aimed to demonstrate how biomedical technology, such as phylogenetics and quantification of viral load and CD4+ T lymphocytes, can be used to produce technical evidence that brings more certainty in determining the authorship and materiality of these criminal behaviors.