title: Cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and HPV type 16 antibodies in South African women.
abstract: There is a high incidence of cervical cancer in South African women. No large studies to assess human papillomavirus virus (HPV) infection or HPV type 16 (HPV-16) exposure have occurred in the region, a requirement for policy making with regards to HPV screening and the introduction of vaccines. Control women (n = 1,003) enrolled in a case control study of hormonal contraceptives and cervical cancer were tested for 27 cervical HPV types by reverse line blot analysis. The seroprevalence of HPV-16 immunoglobulin G (IgG) and IgA antibodies was assessed by a virus-like particle-based enzyme-linked immunoassay of 908 and 904 control women, respectively, and of 474 women with cervical cancer. The cervical HPV prevalence was 26.1%. The HPV-16 IgG seroprevalence was 44.4% and the HPV-16 IgA seroprevalence was 28.7% in control women, and these levels were significantly higher (61.8% and 52.7%, respectively) for women with cervical cancer (odds ratio [OR], 2.1 and 2.8, respectively). The cervical HPV prevalence showed an association with cervical disease, and the HPV-16 IgG prevalence decreased while the HPV-16 IgA prevalence increased with increasing age (P < 0.05). The prevalence of oncogenic HPV types (including HPV-16) decreased with age, whereas nononcogenic HPV types showed limited association with age. Multivariate analysis revealed cervical HPV infection to be associated with herpes simplex virus type 2 infection (OR, 1.7) and increasing years of education (OR, 1.9). HPV-16 IgG antibodies were inversely associated with current smoking status (OR, 0.6), and the presence of HPV-16 IgA antibodies was inversely associated with the use of alcohol (OR, 2.1) and inversely associated with the use of oral contraceptives (OR, 0.6). High levels of exposure to HPV, and particularly HPV-16, were evident in this population. The apparent increase of serum HPV-16 IgA with increasing age requires further investigation.
authors: Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine and Division of Medical Virology, Department Clinical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa. di.marais@uct.ac.za
authors: Dianne J
authors: DJ
authors: Marais
authors: Debbie
authors: D
authors: Constant
authors: Bruce
authors: B
authors: Allan
authors: Henri
authors: H
authors: Carrara
authors: Margaret
authors: M
authors: Hoffman
authors: Samuel
authors: S
authors: Shapiro
authors: Chelsea
authors: C
authors: Morroni
authors: Anna-Lise
authors: AL
authors: Williamson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000821:virology; D015897:Comorbidity; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006558:Herpes Genitalis / Q000453:epidemiology; D052162:Human papillomavirus 16 / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008875:Middle Aged; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization / Q000379:methods; D030361:Papillomavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012907:Smoking; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D002577:Uterine Cervical Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000821:virology*; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G