RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Human papillomavirus DNA detected in fingertip, oral and bathroom samples from unvaccinated adolescent girls in Tanzania
JF Sexually Transmitted Infections
JO Sex Transm Infect
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd
SP 374
OP 379
DO 10.1136/sextrans-2018-053756
VO 95
IS 5
A1 Catherine F Houlihan
A1 Kathy Baisley
A1 Ignacio G Bravo
A1 Miguel A Pavón
A1 John Changalucha
A1 Saidi Kapiga
A1 Silvia De Sanjosé
A1 David A Ross
A1 Richard J Hayes
A1 Deborah Watson-Jones
YR 2019
UL http://sti.bmj.com/content/95/5/374.abstract
AB Objective Human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA has been detected in vaginal samples from adolescent girls who report no previous sex and, in high-income settings, from fingertips, raising the possibility of non-sexual transmission. No such studies originate from East Africa which bears among the highest cervical cancer incidence and HPV prevalence worldwide. HPV-related oral cancer incidence is increasing, but oral HPV prevalence data from East Africa are limited. We aimed to describe the HPV DNA prevalence in genital and non-genital sites and in the bathroom of unvaccinated adolescent girls, and examine genotype concordance between sites.Methods We nested a cross-sectional study of HPV in genital and extragenital sites within a cohort study of vaginal HPV acquisition. Unvaccinated girls age 16–18 years in Tanzania, who reported ever having had sex, were consented, enrolled and tested for the presence of HPV DNA in vaginal samples collected using self-administered swabs, oral samples collected using an oral rinse, and on fingertips and bathroom surfaces collected using a cytobrush.Results Overall, 65 girls were enrolled and 23 (35%, 95% CI 23% to 47%) had detectable vaginal HPV. Adequate (β-globin positive) samples were collected from 36 girls’ fingertips and HPV was detected in 7 (19%, 95% CI 6% to 33%). 63 girls provided adequate oral samples, 4 (6%, 95% CI 0% to 13%) of which had HPV DNA detected. In bathroom samples from 58 girls, 4 (7%, 95% CI 0% to 14%) had detectable HPV DNA. Of the 11 girls with extragenital HPV, six had the same genotype in >1 site.Conclusion We found a high prevalence of HPV in non-genital sites in adolescent girls and in their bathrooms, in this region with a high cervical cancer incidence. Concordance of genotypes between sites supports the possibility of autoinoculation.