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Human papillomavirus (HPV) causes cervical, head, and neck cancers (1). Recent reports show that oropharyngeal cancer, the head/neck cancer for which HPV infection is most common, is increasing (2). HPV [...]

A prospective anonymous study of HTLV-I and HTLV-II seroprevalence among 23,078 pregnant women in most of the cities in the United Kingdom was conducted. It was concluded that the seroprevalence of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in Western Europe is 6-fold higher among pregnant women than among blood donors.

Background: Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is a common vaginal disorder among women of reproductive age, and BV can be associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes and enhanced acquisition and transmission of STIs/HIV. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of BV using the Nugent score and sociodemographic factors associated with BV among women in Maputo, Mozambique, and to evaluate the performance of the AmpliSens® Florocenosis/Bacterial vaginosis-FRT PCR kit versus Nugent score for diagnosis of BV. Material and Methods: Vaginal swabs were collected from 886 non-pregnant symptomatic women during their visit to the Mavalane Health area in Maputo, Mozambique from February 2018 to January 2019. BV was diagnosed by Nugent score. The AmpliSens® Florocenosis/Bacterial vaginosis-FRT PCR kit (InterLabService, Moscow, Russia) was evaluated for BV diagnosis. HIV was detected using Determine HIV1/2 (Alere Medical Co. Ltd, Chiba, Japan) plus Uni-Gold HIV1/2 (Trinity Biotech, Ireland). The chisquare test was used to estimate associations between categorical variables. Results: The prevalence of BV by PCR, Nugent score, and HIV was 47.2%, 39.1%, and 22.5%, respectively. Of those with BV, 52% were HIV-positive and 48% HIV-negative (p < 0.001). The highest proportion of women was under 24 years old (38.1%), single (49.5%), with secondary education (53.5%), and living in rural areas (55.4%). BV was associated with young age at first sexual intercourse (44.5%) (χ² = 17.47, p=< 0.001), condom use (43.3%) (χ² = 3.7, p= 0.05), and no use of contraceptives (49%) ( χ²= 13.6, p=0.02). In real-time PCR, a higher proportion of BV cases (47.2%) were detected. However, 12.5% of women had an unknown vaginal dysbiosis. The sensitivity and specificity of the PCR were 99.6% and 82.2%, respectively. Using the PCR as a reference test, the sensitivity and specificity of the Nugent score were 86.2% and 99.4%, respectively. The concordance of both tests was λ=0.825 (95% CI, 0.78 - 0.86), p< 0.001. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is now a well-established cause of cervical cancer and other anogenital cancers. An association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and higher HPV incidence and prevalence are commonly reported. This study was conducted to demonstrate HPV prevalence, genotypes and its characteristics, according to the HIV status in women from Maputo in Mozambique. Methods: A total of 233 participants with ages ranging from fourteen to forty-five were included. Cervical samples were collected, DNA extracted, and HPV genotyping was performed using the HPV Direct Flow CHIP Kit. Results: In total, 177 HIV-negative and 56 HIV-positive women were included in the analysis. The overall HPV prevalence was 63% and was significantly higher among HIV-positive women (79% versus 58% among HIV-negative women; p = 0.005). The prevalence of multiple HPV type infections was 32%. High-risk HPV types 52, 68, 35, 18 and 16 were the most frequent. A higher proportion of HIV-positive women had multiple HPV types compared with HIV-negative women. Conclusions: This study demonstrated a high prevalence of HPV in the study cohort. HIV-positive women were identified as having the highest HPV prevalence and infection with multiple HPV types across all ages. High-risk genotypes were the most commonly found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a study that assessed the prevalence of human T-cell lymphotropic virus (HTLV) infection and its association with HIV in a rural community in Guinea-Bissau. Statistical data on the prevalence of human retroviruses in Guinea-Bissau; Methodology used; Results and implications.

Cites several strategies for the diagnosis of HTLV-I and II. Comparison of the accuracy of a combination of two sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays with Western blot; Consideration of epidemiologic data; Reduction of direct and indirect costs.

Compares the plasma viral load in HIV-1 and HIV-2 infected individuals in Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. Level of viral set point in HIV-2 seroconverters versus recently HIV-1 seroconverters; Level of plasma HIV-1 ribonucleic acid in singly versus dually infected individuals; Factor affecting differences in HIV-1 and HIV-2 infections.

An abstract of the article "Phase I HIV Vaccine Trial to Assess Safety and Immunogenicity of DNA Priming and MVA Boosting in Healthy Mozambican Young Adults" by Edna Omar Viegas and colleagues is presented.

An abstract of the article "Frequency of resistant virus and options for a second-line treatment for HIV-1 infected children under HAART in Mozambique," by Marie-Laure Chaix and colleagues, is presented.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is now a well-established cause of cervical cancer and other anogenital cancers. An association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and higher HPV incidence and prevalence are commonly reported. This study was conducted to demonstrate HPV prevalence, genotypes and its characteristics, according to the HIV status in women from Maputo in Mozambique., Methods: A total of 233 participants with ages ranging from fourteen to forty-five were included. Cervical samples were collected, DNA extracted, and HPV genotyping was performed using the HPV Direct Flow CHIP Kit., Results: In total, 177 HIV-negative and 56 HIV-positive women were included in the analysis. The overall HPV prevalence was 63% and was significantly higher among HIV-positive women (79% versus 58% among HIV-negative women; p = 0.005). The prevalence of multiple HPV type infections was 32%. High-risk HPV types 52, 68, 35, 18 and 16 were the most frequent. A higher proportion of HIV-positive women had multiple HPV types compared with HIV-negative women., Conclusions: This study demonstrated a high prevalence of HPV in the study cohort. HIV-positive women were identified as having the highest HPV prevalence and infection with multiple HPV types across all ages. High-risk genotypes were the most commonly found.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of infection, genotypes and risk factors for human papillomavirus (HPV) among men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women living with and without HIV in Pakistan. Anal infection with HPV is very common worldwide among MSM, particularly among MSM living with HIV. The high prevalence of HIV among MSM and male-to-female transgendered individuals in Pakistan is a significant health concern since access to screening and health-seeking is often delayed in this stigmatised key population., Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted between March 2016 and November 2017., Participants, Setting and Data Collection: This study recruited MSM and transgender-women who self-reported to have had anal sex in the last 6 months, and were at least 18 years of age, from the sexual health and antiretroviral therapy centres. Structured questionnaires were administered, and blood samples were obtained to confirm HIV status. Anal swabs were collected for HPV-DNA detection and typing., Main Outcome Measures: The primary outcome was the prevalence of 'HPV-DNA infection'. The prevalence ratios (PR) were calculated using Cox proportional hazard model algorithms to analyse the association between exposure variables and HPV-infection., Results: Complete data were available for 298 MSM and transgender women (HIV +n=131; HIV-n=167). The overall HPV-DNA prevalence was 65.1% and was higher in participants living with HIV as compared with HIV-negative (87% vs 48%; χ 2 p≤0.001). Likewise, 28.9% of participants living with HIV were infected with two or more than two types of HPV as compared with 18.8% participants without HIV(χ 2 p≤0.001). The most frequent HPV type was HPV6/11 (46.9%), followed by HPV16 (35.1%), HPV18 (23.2%) and HPV35 (21.1%). HIV status (PR 2.81, 95% CI 2.16 to 3.82) and never condom use (PR 3.08, 95% CI 1.69 to 5.60)) were independently associated with prevalence of 'anal-HPV16 infection' when adjusting for confounding for age, other sexual and behavioural factors, for example, smoking and alcohol consumption., Conclusion: High prevalence of HPV indicates a substantial future risk of anal cancer in Pakistani MSM and transgender women, and particularly in those living with HIV. Current findings support anal Pap-smear HPV screening for this particular group and vaccination efforts for future generations., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)