Prevalence and genotypic distribution of human papillomavirus in India: Insights from a five-year retrospective...

While several regional and multicenter studies have documented HPV distribution in India, nationally representative large-scale data remain limited. This study evaluated HPV prevalence and genotypic diversity within a laboratory-based referral cohort to provide high-resolution insights into a specific healthcare-seeking demographic.

A five-year retrospective analysis was conducted on 32,912 individuals (n = 32,726 females; n = 186 males) who accessed HPV testing through a private reference laboratory between January 2020 and December 2024. Screening was performed using Real-Time PCR to identify HPV-16, HPV-18, and pooled non-16/18 high-risk (HR-HPV) genotypes. To further characterize the specific genotypes within the pooled non-16/18 group, Sanger sequencing was performed on HPV-HR positive samples for genotypic validation.

The overall HPV positivity rate was 5.7% in females and 1.1% in males. The highest prevalence (8.4%) was observed in the 19-30 year age group. Among positive cases, pooled non-16/18 high-risk HPV genotypes predominated (73.33%), followed by HPV-16 (19.84%) and HPV-18 (5.01%). Notably, HPV-45 was identified as a leading genotype in 65.52% of cytologically abnormal samples within this cohort.

This study highlights a diverse genotypic landscape within a screened Indian cohort, characterized by a high prevalence of HPV-45. These findings suggest that non-16/18 genotypes contribute significantly to the HPV burden in this laboratory-based population. The data underscores the importance of genotype-inclusive diagnostic panels and suggests that future vaccine strategies could benefit from further evaluating the specific epidemiological profile observed in such healthcare-seeking demographics.