Human papillomavirus DNA detected in fingertip, oral and bathroom samples from unvaccinated adolescent girls in Tanzania

Catherine F Houlihan , Kathy Baisley (1) , Ignacio G Bravo (2) , Miguel Pavón , John Changalucha (3) , Saidi Kapiga , Silvia de Sanjosé (4) , David Ross (5) , Richard Hayes (6) , Deborah Watson-Jones (1)

1 LSHTM - London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
2 MIVEGEC-Virostyle - Virostyle
3 National Institute of Medical Research
4 ICO - Catalan Institute of Oncology = Instituto Catalán de Oncología
5 Infectious & Tropical Diseases
6 Department of Epidemiology & Population Health

5 infections and cancer laboratory, cancer epidemiology research Program, catalan institute of Oncology (icO), Barcelona, Spain 6 ciBer-Onc, Hospitalet de llobregat, AbsTrACT 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.

Domaines: Cancer; Maladies infectieuses; Virologie; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Catherine F Houlihan, Kathy Baisley, Ignacio G Bravo, Miguel Pavón, John Changalucha, et al.. Human papillomavirus DNA detected in fingertip, oral and bathroom samples from unvaccinated adolescent girls in Tanzania. Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2019, pp.sextrans-2018-053756. ⟨10.1136/sextrans-2018-053756⟩. ⟨hal-02108632⟩