HPV cervical infections and serological status in vaccinated and unvaccinated women

Abstract

Background. Understanding genital infections by Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) remains a major public health issue, especially in countries where vaccine uptake is low. Methods. We investigate HPV prevalence and antibody status in 150 women (ages 18 to 25) in Montpellier, France. At inclusion and one month later, cervical swabs, blood samples and questionnaires (for demographics and behavioural variables) were collected. Results. Oncogenic, non-vaccine genotypes HPV51, HPV66, HPV53, and HPV52 were the most frequently detected viral genotypes overall. Vaccination status, which was well-balanced in the cohort, showed the strongest (protective) effect against HPV infections, with an associated odds ratio for alphapapillomavirus detection of 0.45 (95% confidence interval: [0.22;0.58]). We also identified significant effects of age, number of partners, body mass index, and contraception status on HPV detection and on coinfections. Type-specific IgG serological status was also largely explained by the vaccination status. IgM seropositivity was best explained by HPV detection at inclusion only. Finally, we identify a strong significant effect of vaccination on genotype prevalence, with a striking under-representation of HPV51 in vaccinated women. Conclusions. Variations in HPV prevalence correlate with key demographic and behavioural variables. The cross-protective effect of the vaccine against HPV51 merits further investigation.

Concomitant and productive genital infections by HSV-2 and HPV in two young women: a case report

“…This prevalence of 18.6% is in the high end of the European estimates (95% confidence interval of 5.0 to 21.7% according to [7]). The presence of coinfections is also consistent with the relatively high prevalence of HPV infections at inclusion [14] and can be explained by PAPCLEAR cohort having more sexual partners than the average of the population.…”

Cytokine response following perturbation of the cervicovaginal milieu during HPV genital infection

“…Clinical and demographic information of the cohort has been described previously. 13 For the subset of participants in this analysis the median age was 21 years (interquartile range: 21-23 years), and 5 percent of the study participants presented atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) and 4% were diagnosed low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL). Forty out of 92 participants were HPV negative.…”

“…The protocols used for HPV detection and genotyping rely on the DEIA and LiPa25 tests as described previously. 13 The presence of chlamydia infection was tested by PCR following the STI detection center standard procedures. Diagnosis for BV, and urinary tract, fungal, or genital infections were performed by the clinician or mid-wife during the gynecological visit.…”

“…For HPV testing and genotyping, we also used data from the second visit, a month later, to define more robust infection patterns and rule out transient HPV carriage, as detailed in an earlier study. 13…”