High prevalence of HPV among female students in Finland

We studied the prevalence of HPV DNA among university students within the Helsinki metropolitan area in Finland. First-y students attending a general health examination as well as students visiting a general practitioner for contraception were enrolled. Vaginal self-samples or cervicovaginal swabs were collected from a total of 1469 students. HPV DNA was determined using a liquid hybridization test. Of all students 33.0% were positive for HPV DNA. Of all positive samples 84.3% were positive for high-risk HPV. The study demonstrated a strikingly high HPV DNA prevalence among the young women. Self-collected samples proved to be acceptable for HPV DNA detection using liquid hybridization.