Prevalence of Oral Human Papilloma virus infection in an East African HIV/AIDS cohort: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Little is known about the prevalence of Oral Human Papilloma Virus (OHPV) in people living with HIV (PLWHIV) in the East African region. The objective of this study was to document the prevalence and types OHPV infection in a large cohort of PLWHIV attending an urban HIV clinic in Eastern Africa. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study among 1,715 participants of the Makerere University Joint AIDS Program clinic, located in Kampala, Uganda, in East Africa. A salivary sample was collected from which DNA was extracted and subjected to a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based typing. Data analysis was carried out among participants with complete data (n = 1,243) and relied on descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages), bivariate testing and multivariate regression modeling, using a conventional p < 0.05 statistical significance threshold. Results: Participants had a mean age of 45 (SD = 10) years, most (69%) were female, and 67% were HPV positive. There was no association between participants' age or gender and the likelihood of them being diagnosed with HPV infection in this study. HPV type 45 was the most frequently (16%) identified HPV, while HPV type 18 (5%) and HPV type 16 (2.3%) were less frequently identified. Most of the HPV positive samples had more than one HPV type detected. Conclusion: This study highlights the high prevalence of OHPV among PLWHIV, with HPV type 45 being the most frequently detected type, and smaller frequencies of vaccine targeted HPV 16 and HPV 18. Our findings highlight the need for continued surveillance and typing of circulating OHPV strains, particularly among PLWHIV, to inform evidence-based preventive strategies.