Human Papilloma Virus Distribution Across the African Diaspora

Understanding the distribution of human papilloma virus (HPV) subtypes in limited-resource settings is imperative for cancer prevention strategies in these regions. The objective of our study is to compare the prevalence of cervical HPV genotypes in women across the African diaspora.

This study was approved by the African Caribbean Consortium (AC3). Six member institutions (Benin, Ethiopia, The Bahamas, Tobago, Curacao, and Jamaica) provided independently collected HPV data. Prevalence comparisons across for each nation were performed followed by an assessment of anticipated 9-valent vaccine coverage. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were used with significance at P < .05.

One thousand three hundred fifty high-risk (HR) and 584 low-risk (LR) HPV subtypes were identified in the entire cohort. The most common HR HPV subtype was HPV 16 (17.9%) of infections. The distribution of HR and LR subtypes varied by country. The proportion of HR-HPV subtypes covered by the current 9-valent vaccine was lower in African countries compared with the Caribbean countries (47.9% v 67.9%; P < .01). No significant difference was seen for LR subtypes (8.1% African continent v 5.2% Caribbean; P = .20). Marked variation in the proportion of infections covered by the 9-valent vaccine persisted in individual countries.

Significant variations in HPV prevalence were identified among African and Afro-Caribbean women. A large number of women in these regions are potentially uncovered by current vaccination formulation, particularly low-risk HPV infections.