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Clinical and Diagnostic Laboratory Immunology, Mar 1997, 122-126, Vol 4, No. 2
RP Viscidi, KL Kotloff, B Clayman, K Russ, S Shapiro and KV Shah
A human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) virus-like particle (VLP)-based
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to measure serum
antibody to capsid proteins in 376 sexually active college women who were
also screened for the presence of genital HPVs by PCR and interviewed for
demographic and behavioral risk factors for HPV infection. The
seroprevalence was 46% in women with HPV-16 DNA in the genital tract. The
corresponding values for women who harbored other HPV types or no HPV in
the genital tract were 30 and 19%, respectively (HPV-16 group versus no-HPV
group; odds ratio [OR], 3.7; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.5 to 8.9). The
antibody response was significantly higher among women with a high viral
load than among those with a low viral load (median optical density value,
0.838 versus 0.137, P = 0.009). Comparable levels of seroreactivity were
observed among women infected with HPV types distantly or closely related
genetically to HPV- 16. Seroreactivity was significantly associated with an
age of 25 to 30 years (OR, 2.3; 95% CI, 1.2 to 4.4), three or more lifetime
sexual partners (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1 to 10), and history of a sexually
transmitted disease other than HPV (OR, 3.1; 95% CI, 1.5 to 6.3). The
percent seropositivity increased linearly with number of lifetime sexual
partners until reaching a plateau at 35% for women with more than six
partners (chi for linear trend, P < 0.001). The low sensitivity of
HPV-16 VLP-based ELISA may limit the usefulness of the assay as a
diagnostic test for HPV-16 infection. However, the assay appears to have
adequate specificity and should be useful as an epidemiological marker of
HPV-16 infection and sexual behavior.
Copyright © 1997 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Prevalence of antibodies to human papillomavirus (HPV) type 16 virus- like particles in relation to cervical HPV infection among college women
Eudowood Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA. rviscidi@welchlink.welch.jhu.edu
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