Prevalence and Subtype Distribution of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Among Women Presenting for Cervical Cancer Screening at Karanda Mission Hospital.

purposeHigh-risk human papillomaviruses (hrHPV) are the primary cause of cervical cancer. Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination is expected to prevent cervical cancers caused by the HPV types included in vaccines and possibly by cross-protection from other types. This study sought to determine the hrHPV type distribution in women at a rural Zimbabwe hospital.

methodsWe implemented a cross-sectional study at the Karanda Mission Hospital. Using the Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid Cervicography technique, clinicians collected cervical swabs from 400 women presenting for screening for cervical cancer. Samples were initially analyzed by Cepheid GeneXpert; candidate hrHPV genotypes were further characterized using the Anyplex II HPV28 Detection Kit.

resultsTwenty-one percent of the 400 women were positive for a high-risk genotype when using the GeneXpert analyzer; 17% were positive when using the multiplex analysis. Almost two thirds of the hrHPV women had a single DNA type identified, whereas one third had multiple genotypes, ranging from 2 to 5. hrHPV was observed more frequently in HIV-positive than in HIV-negative women (27%

conclusionA large fraction of hrHPV isolates from women participating in a cervical cancer screening program in northern Zimbabwe are DNA types not covered by the bivalent, quadrivalent, or nonavalent vaccines. These findings suggest the importance of characterizing the hrHPV DNA types isolated from cervical neoplasia in this population and determining whether cross-immunization against these genotypes develops after administration of the vaccines in current use.