Prevalence of Cervical Human Pappillomavirus Infection in Awka, Nigeria

Prevalence of cervical Human Papillomavirus infection and type distribution vary with different environments. Knowledge of this will help in some cervical cancer interventions such as vaccine administration. This study aimed at determining the prevalence of cervical HPV infection among women attending a tertiary hospital in Awka, Nigeria. To evaluate cervical HPV Infections, cervical samples were collected over a period of 1 year from 405 consenting women. Multiplex PCR and cytology were used in the study. Semi-structured questionnaire was used to obtain the demographic characteristics of the participants. Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS statistics version 21. The findings showed that of the 405 women, 387 (94.4%) had normal cytology, and 18 (4.4%) had Low-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (LSIL). There was no High-grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (HSIL). HPV prevalence of (79) 19.5% was obtained overall in the 405 women, (75 of 387) 19.4% with normal cytology, (4 of 18) 22.2% with LSIL. Age specific prevalence peaked at age group 30 - 39 and a second peak at 60 - 69. HPV types obtained were HPV 16 31 (7.7%), HPV 18 24 (5.9%), HPV 35 3 (0.7%), HPV 33 9 (2.2%), HPV 68 3 (0.7%) and multiple infections (9) 2.2%. HPV 16 was the only type found in LSIL. Regular HPV typing and screening of our women for HPV infection and Pap’s smear can go a long way in the reduction of cervical cancer.