Author/Editor     Mlakar, Boštjan; Kocjan, Boštjan; Hošnjak, Lea; Fujs Komloš, Kristina; Miloševič, Miloš; Poljak, Mario
Title     Betapapillomaviruses in the anal canal of HIV positive and HIV negative men who have sex with men
Type     članek
Vol. and No.     Letnik 61, št. 2
Publication year     2014
Volume     str. 237-241
ISSN     1386-6532 - Journal of clinical virology : the official publication of the Pan American Society for Clinical Virology
Language     eng
Abstract     Background Betapapillomaviruses (beta-PV) are etiologically associated with epidermodysplasia verruciformis and a proportion of skin precancerous lesions and cancer, mainly in immunocompromised individuals. Objectives The prevalence and persistence of anal beta-PV infection and beta-PV type distribution were determined in a cohort of men who have sex with men (MSM). A correlation with HIV-1 infection status and selected demographic and behavioral risk factors were additionally established. Study design A total of 181 anal swabs (135 initial and 46 follow-up swabs) obtained from 135 Slovenian MSMs (17.0% HIV-1 positive) were tested for the presence of 25 different beta-PV types using Diassay RHA Kit Skin (beta) HPV assay and, if negative, with an in-house nested Ma/Ha PCR. Results beta-PVs were detected in 88/135 (65.2%) initial anal swabs. Infection with multiple beta-PV types was found in 26 samples; the number of beta-PVs ranged from 2 to 9. A total of 29 distinct beta-PVs were detected: HPV-36 and HPV-38 were the most prevalent, followed by HPV-23, HPV-24, and HPV-93. HIV-1 positive status, promiscuity and use of alkyl nitrites were significantly associated with a higher prevalence of anal beta-PV infection. Three partial DNA sequences suggesting putative new HPV types were identified. Conclusion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate and characterize beta-PV infections in the anal region. We showed that anal beta-PV infection is highly prevalent in the MSM population and that beta-PVs can establish persistent infection in the anal region for up to 4.8 years.
Keywords     betapapillomavirus
anal HPV infection
HPV type
batapapilomavirus
analna okužba s HPV
HPV tip