Serologic response to oncogenic human papillomavirus types in male and female university students in Busan, South Korea

Human Papillomavirus Infection in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia: A Population-Based Study

Data on human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer burden in Central Asia are scarce. To investigate HPV infection in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, we obtained cervical cell specimens from a population of 969 women ages 15 to 59 years. DNA of 44 HPV types was detected using a GP5+/6+ PCR-based assay. Seropositivity for L1 proteins of HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 was assessed using multiplex HPV serology. Cytologic abnormalities were detected in 127 women (13.1%), among whom 6 cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 3 and 2 invasive cervical cancers were diagnosed. Overall HPV DNA prevalence was 35.0%, being highest (48.5%) in women ages <25 years. High-risk types were detected in 24.5% of women. HPV DNA prevalence declined with age but remained >25% in all age groups. HPV seroprevalence was also very high (38.0%) and increased steadily from 33.2% to 48.9% in women ages <25 and 50 to 59 years, respectively. However, the proportion of women positive for both HPV markers of any individual HPV type was low. HPV16 was the most frequently detected type by PCR (6.1%), serology (23.0%), or both (2.1%). Lifetime number of sexual partners and induced abortions were shown to be directly associated with HPV DNA and/or seroprevalence. HPV prevalence in Ulaanbaatar was higher than that detected by similar HPV testing protocols in other populations in Asia or elsewhere and would suggest an important, yet unquantified, cervical cancer burden. Improving cervical cancer prevention, through screening and HPV vaccination, is an important public health issue for Mongolia. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2008;17(7):1731–8)

Seroprevalence of 34 human papillomavirus types in the German general population

The natural history of infections with many human papillomavirus (HPV) types is poorly understood. Here, we describe for the first time the age- and sex-dependent antibody prevalence for 29 cutaneous and five mucosal HPV types from 15 species within five phylogenetic genera (alpha, beta, gamma, mu, nu) in a general population. Sera from 1,797 German adults and children (758 males and 1,039 females) between 1 and 82 years (median 37 years) were analysed for antibodies to the major capsid protein L1 by Luminex-based multiplex serology. The first substantial HPV antibody reactions observed already in children and young adults are those to cutaneous types of the genera nu (HPV 41) and mu (HPV 1, 63). The antibody prevalence to mucosal high-risk types, most prominently HPV 16, was elevated after puberty in women but not in men and peaked between 25 and 34 years. Antibodies to beta and gamma papillomaviruses (PV) were rare in children and increased homogeneously with age, with prevalence peaks at 40 and 60 years in women and 50 and 70 years in men. Antibodies to cutaneous alpha PV showed a heterogeneous age distribution. In summary, these data suggest three major seroprevalence patterns for HPV of phylogenetically distinct genera: antibodies to mu and nu skin PV appear early in life, those to mucosal alpha PV in women after puberty, and antibodies to beta as well as to gamma skin PV accumulate later in life.