The prevalence and genotype distribution of human papillomaviruses among women in Taizhou, China

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is the leading cause of cervical cancer and precancerous lesions. Knowledge regarding the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV in women is important to establish strategies for cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination. This study aimed to evaluate the characteristics of HPV infection in Taizhou, China. HPV genotype of 10,733 women who visited Taizhou People's Hospital from November 2016 to October 2018 was determined using a PCR and hybridization-based detection test. The prevalence of overall, high risk (HR), and low risk (LR) HPV infections was 34.58%, 29.92%, and 10.12%, respectively. Of HPV-positive cases, 2417 (65.13%) were infected with a single HPV genotype and 1294 (34.87%) were infected with multiple HPV genotypes. HPV-52 was the most prevalent genotype (6.21%), followed by HPV-16 (5.33%), HPV-53 (4.03%), HPV-58 (3.89%), and HPV-81 (3.75%). The highest prevalence of HPV infection was found in women aged ≥60 years (40.72%). Furthermore, the prevalence of HPV increased with the severity of cervical lesions. In conclusions, the prevalence and genotype distribution of HPV varied with age and cervical lesions. The findings might serve as a potential reference for guiding cervical cancer screening and vaccine-based HPV prevention in Taizhou.