Co-Infection Patterns of Beta, Gamma, and Alpha HPV Types in Cervical and Anal Sites in HIV-Positive Women

This study investigates the prevalence of beta (β) and gamma (γ) human papillomavirus (HPV) types in cervical and anal samples from women living with HIV and examines their association with alpha (α) HPV and cytological lesions. Cervical and anal swabs were collected from 138 women. Detection of β- and γ-HPV types were performed using bead-based assays, and data analysis included only samples with adequate DNA quality, as confirmed by β-globin amplification. The analysis revealed higher rates of β-HPV in anal samples (51.7%) compared to cervical samples (30.3%), with β-1 species being predominant in both sites. Furthermore, γ-HPV types were more prevalent in anal samples (36.5%) than in cervical site (16.9%), with γ-10 being the most frequently detected species. Concordance between cervical and anal samples for specific β-HPV types (κ = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.03-0.36) and γ-HPV types (κ = 0.17, 95% CI: 0.003-0.36) was poor. Co-infections with both β- and γ-HPV types in cervical samples was significantly associated with co-infection at the anal site (OR 7.7; 95% CI: 1.44-38.25; p = 0.01). There was no statistically significant association (p > 0.05) between β-HPV positivity and neoplastic precancerous lesions (LSIL or HSIL) at either the cervical or anal site. Similarly, γ-HPV positivity showed no significant association (p > 0.05) with cytological abnormalities in cervical or anal samples. In conclusion, while the prevalence of β- and γ-HPV types is higher in the anal region among HIV-positive women, the absence of a strong association with neoplastic lesions underscores their limited oncogenic potential compared to high-risk α-HPV types.