Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus Serotypes and Confrontation with Available Vaccine Antigens: The Case of Cameroon: Prévalence des Sérotypes de Papillomavirus Humain à Haut Risque et Confrontation avec les Antigènes Vaccinaux Disponibles : Le Cas du Cameroun

Abstract

Background: Cervical cancer, caused by oncogenic human papillomavirus (HPV) serotypes, is a devastating disease in the developing world, even though it is preventable and treatable. Cameroon currently offers immunization against only two high-risk HPV types (16 and 18), and screening for cervical cancer by testing for HPV is limited to pilot centers. We therefore carried out this study to determine the prevalence of oncogenic serotypes of HPV in asymptomatic women of reproductive age attending cervical cancer screening in Yaoundé, Cameroon, to confront this data with available vaccines, and to identify some factors associated with HPV infection. Methodology: We did a hospital based retrospective descriptive and analytical study at two hospitals of the Cameroon Baptist convention (CBC), located at the Etoug-Ebe and Ekoumdoum neighborhoods, in Yaoundé, which offer cervical cancer screening through HPV DNA testing. The study period was from February 2020 to December 2021. Results: The prevalence of high-risk HPV was 41.8%. The non 16/18 HPV types were the most common (81.0%) type of high-risk HPV. HPV 16 and 18 had prevalence of 9.2% and 9.8%, respectively. The prevalence of high-risk HPV was associated with HIV-positivity. Conclusion: The prevalence of high-risk HPV is higher than previously reported in the country. The prevalence of non-16/18 serotypes is disproportionately higher than that of types 16 and 18. The lone factor associated with HPV infection in this study was the existence of infection with the HIV.