PI-1 Age-specific HPV prevalence among adolescent girls in Jos, North-Central Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Knowledge of the age-specific prevalence of HPV types among adolescent girls in SSA is essential to determine the best age for introduction of HPV vaccination, monitoring of vaccine efficacy and provision of insight into persistent infection. Methods: We randomly selected 205 girls, age 9–20 years living in Jos, Nigeria. Informed consent and assent were obtained prior to training on self-collection of vulvo-vaginal samples using sterile swab stick and first void urine. HPV detection was carried out using HPV SPF10-DEIA/LiPA25. Data analysis was done using STATA14. Results: The mean (SD) age of the girls was 14.9 (2.3) years. AnyHPV was detected in 29.3% of participants. The earliest age at which anyHPV and high-risk HPV (hrHPV) infections were detected in either urine or vulvo-vaginal samples were 10 and 11 years of age respectively. The prevalence of anyHPV, hrHPV, lrHPV and multiple hrHPV peaked at 16 years of age. The prevalence of hrHPV infection was 3.4% among the 9–12 years age group, 7.8% among 13–16 years and 5.4% among 17–20 year old. The commonest hrHPV types detected were 52 (10.2%), 18 (6.3%) and 51 (4.4%). Conclusions: While a larger study is warranted, our findings suggest that in this population, HPV vaccination starting at 9 years of age would cover the at-risk population.