The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in cervical cell scrapes from a cohort of 276 young women was determined by a general two-step polymerase chain reaction. HPV infection fluctuated among young women during a 2-year interval. The total prevalence of HPV infection decreased from 21% to 8.3%. The most prevalent HPV types at enrollment were HPV-16 (3.3%) and HPV-6 (2.9%). At follow-up, the most common type was HPV-16 (2.9%), while no HPV-6 was detected. In 2 women only, the same HPV type persisted. Regression of HPV infection was found in 80% of the women. A new HPV type-specific infection was detected in 7.2% of the women and was independently associated with a new sex partner or an abnormal smear since enrollment.

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The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection in cervical cell scrapes from young women was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) by using general primer pairs localized within the Li region. With a one-step general PCR, 5.9%Yo (35 of 590) of young women in a population-based study were found to contain HPV DNA. The proportion of HPV-positive women increased with age, from 1.4% (1 of 69) among women aged 19 years to 9.2% (13 of 142) among women aged 25 years. Among the cervical scrapes from women with normal cytology, 5.6% (30 of 539) harbored HPV DNA. A total of 5 of 19 (26.3%) of the women with pathological signs were positive for HPV DNA. By a two-step PCR, using nested general primers, 20.3% (118 of 581) of all women were shown to contain HPV DNA. The proportion of HPV-positive women also increased with age, from 17.4% (12 of 69) among women aged 19 years to 31.9%o (43 of 135) among women aged 25 years, when the two-step PCR was used. Some 19.2% (102 of 530) of cervical scrapes from women with normal cytology contained HPV DNA. Among the women with pathological signs, 16 of 19 (84.2%) were positive for HPV DNA. The HPV DNA-positive specimens were demonstrated to contain HPV type 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 40, 45, 55, or 56. The most prevalent HPV types were 6 (2.0%o) and 16 (2.7%). More than one type was found in 16 specimens. Sixty HPV-positive samples could not be typed.

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