Introduction: The Human papillomavirus (HPV) is highly prevalent in sexually active men and women and has been associated with several cancers.There are >100 genotypes of HPV, with some types affecting humans specifically.High-risk HPV genotypes such as types 16 and 18 are responsible for 70-80% of all cervical cancer cases worldwide.In Saudi Arabia, data on HPV prevalence remains controversial and limited.In this study we focused on determining the prevalence of HPV in men and women in the Western region of Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods:Samples included 119 self-collected vaginal swab samples from females attending gynecological clinic at King Abdul Aziz University Hospital, and 966 archived serum samples from healthy male and female blood donors.Serum samples were screened by ELISA for HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 IgG antibodies, and swabs were tested for HPV by Nested PCR.Results: Out of the 966 serum samples, only 15 samples (∼1.55%) were positive for HPV IgG antibodies, suggesting low seroprevalence of HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 in the general population.Of the 119 tested vaginal swabs, 7 samples were found positive (∼5.88%) for HPV DNA in which genotypes 11, 16, 58, 62, 66 and 67 were identified.Discussion: The low rate of seroprevalence of HPV in the general population clearly reflects the lack of the vaccine availability in Saudi Arabia.Also, the finding that 5.88% of the tested vaginal samples were positive for HPV shows that HPV is not uncommon among high-risk groups such as adult women.Conclusion: Awareness, sexual education and vaccine use will help in controlling the spread of the infection.Further studies and more samples are clearly needed to better understand the true prevalence of HPV and thus reducing the incidence of cervical cancer in Saudi Arabia.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Aboud et al. (2019) studied this question.