Seroprevalence and Co-Infection of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Genotypes Among HIV Positives

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is now considered a sexually transmitted disease with particular types being highly oncogenic in nature. High-risk HPV virus infection is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer amongst women. This study determined the seroprevalence of HPV type-16 and type-18 among HIV positive. Blood samples were processed using ELISA test kit and PCR technique. ELISA detected HPV antibodies in 1036(4.4%) of the samples out of which 14(13.6%) and 19(18.4%) were positive for HPV type-18 and type 18 using PCR. People in the age group 51-60 years had an HPV prevalence of 41(77.41%) while those with secondary education had a prevalence of 51(81.0%). Those who did not state the number of sexual partners they had was 92(76.7%). High levels of HPV antibodies were also found among civil servants (n = 52, 50.5%), traders (n = 29, 76.3%) and widows (n = 49, 72.1%). HPV infection was highest among individuals between 41-50 years with HPV type-16 being 9(34.6%) while HPV type-18 was 11(42.3%). HPV infection (type-16) was also recorded in rural dwellers (n = 11, 14.7%) and traders (n = 7, 24.1%). However, type -18 HPV infection among rural dwellers and traders was 22.7% (n = 17) and 37.9% n = 11) respectively. HPV type-16 (n = 11, 12%) and HPV type-18 (n = 16, 17.4%) was also recorded for those that did not state the number of sexual partners they had. Our results show the presence of HPV type-16 and type18 infection among the HIV-1 positive individuals. The results show that HPV is a co-infection in HIV-1 positive individuals. We conclude that some of the major risk factors associated with HPV infection among HIV-1 positive individuals are age and occupational status. There is need to include HPV screening as one of the vital tests during HIV-1 screening since early detection of HPV helps in reducing female mortality due to cervical cancer.