High-risk HPV types in Tunisia. A pilot study reveals an unexpectedly high prevalence of types 58 and 82 and lack of HPV 18 among female prostitutes

Abstract

"High-risk" HPVs (HR-HPV) have sharply different prevalences and there is evidence to suggest this may vary according to regions. Accurate description of HR-HPV circulation is a key feature for the rational design of prevention and screening campaigns. To gain insight into HR-HPV circulation in Tunisia, a pilot study was carried out on 64 healthy prostitutes working in the Tunis area. HPV detection and typing were carried out by MY09/MY11 PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). A selected set of samples was also assayed by Gp5+/Gp6+ PCR and typed by direct sequencing. Out of 64 women, 28 were HPV positive. HPV-16 and HPV-58, both members of the genus Alpha-Papillomavirus, species 9, accounted for 10 and 7 cases with a prevalence rate of 38% and 27%, respectively. HPV-82, a member of species 5, ranked third with four cases (approximately 15%). Types 31, 33, 35; all members of species 9 were each detected once (approximately 4%) while neither HPV-18 nor related members of species 7 were detected. Type 72 and 83, both members of species 3, were the only low-risk types, each detected only once (4% each). Two samples could not be typed. The prevalence of HPV types appeared sharply different from that of neighboring areas. Should the existence of epidemiological pockets be confirmed by larger, more detailed studies, screening and vaccine campaigns will have to be designed carefully taking into account the actual epidemiological context of the target population.

Sexually transmitted infections among female sex workers in Tunisia: high prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis

“…The prevalence of cervical HPV infection found in our study is similar to previous reports in our country. Cervical HPV was thus found in 39.2% of prostitutes from Sousse and in 43.7% of those from Tunis 28 29. The carriage of high oncogenic risk HPV types was also reported in these studies.…”

Cervical HPV Infection in Female Sex Workers: A Global Perspective

“…We only have information about alcohol use in studies done in the Eastern Mediterranean region where one study reported all FSW were habitual alcohol users [26], and others reported that 50% currently drank [19]. …”

Human Papillomavirus Genotyping in Histological Sections of Precursor Lesions of Cervical Carcinoma: Its Role as a Possible Adjunct for the Evaluation of the Oncogenic Potential of Specific Human Papillomavirus Genotypes – A Study in a Coastal Region of Southeastern Spain

“…This finding may be explained by geographical prevalence of this genotype in some Mediterranean countries [22,23] and immigration from South America where this genotype is the second most frequently detected after HPV16 [24] . It is worth mentioning that according to the PATRICIA preliminary results [10] , vaccination against HPV16 and 18 is not effective against HPV58, whereas a cross-protection effect is seen for genotypes 31, 33 and 52.…”