Betapapillomavirus natural history and co-detection with
alphapapillomavirus in cervical samples of adult women
Abstract
Background: Human papillomaviruses (HPV) of the genus
Betapapillomavirus can infect both cutaneous and mucosal sites,
but research on its natural history at mucosal sites remains scarce. We
examined the risk factors and co-detection patterns of HPVs of the
Betapapillomavirus and Alphapapillomavirus genera in
cervical samples of the Ludwig-McGill cohort study. Methods: We
assessed a subset of 505 women from the Ludwig-McGill cohort study from
São Paulo, Brazil. Cervical samples over the first year of follow-up
were tested for DNA of over 40 alphapapillomavirus types and 43
betapapillomavirus types using a type-specific multiplex genotyping PCR
assay. We assessed the risk factors for prevalent and incident
betapapillomavirus type detection, and whether types were detected more
frequently together than expected assuming independence using
permutation tests, logistic regression, and Cox regression.
Results: We observed significant within-genus clustering but
not cross-genus clustering. Multiple betapapillomavirus types were
co-detected in the same sample 2.24 (95%CI: 1.65-3.29) times more
frequently than expected. Conversely, co-detections of
alphapapillomavirus and betapapillomavirus types in the same sample
occurred only 0.64 (95%CI: 0.51-0.83) times as often as expected under
independence. In prospective analyses, positivity to one HPV genus was
associated with a non-significant lower incidence of detection of types
in the other genus. Lifetime number of sex partners and new sex partner
acquisition were associated with lower risks of prevalent and incident
betapapillomavirus detection. Conclusion: Betapapillomaviruses
are commonly found in the cervicovaginal tract. Results suggest
potentially different mechanisms of transmission for betapapillomavirus
genital infections other than vaginal sex.