International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR) ISSN (Online): 2319-7064 Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438 Volume 4 Issue 3, March 2015 www.ijsr.net Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus infection among Congolese Women with Normal Cervical Cytology Luc Magloire Anicet Boumba 1, 2, 3 , Mustapha Mouallif 1 , Lahoucine Hilali 2,4 , Donatien Moukassa 3 , Moulay Mustapha Ennaji 1 1 Laboratoire de Virologie, Microbiologie et Qualité/ETB, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques de Mohammedia, Université Hassan II Casablanca B.P. 146, Mohammedia 20650, Maroc. 2 Laboratoire d’Agroalimentaire et Santé, Département de Biologie Appliquée, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université Hassan 1er Settat B.P. 577 Settat, Maroc. 3 Laboratoire d’Analyses Médicales et Morphologiques, Hôpital Général de Loandjili, B.P. 8122, Pointe-Noire, Congo. 4 Institut Supérieur des Sciences de la santé, Settat, Université Hassan 1er Settat B.P. 577 Settat, Maroc Abstract: To determine the HPV infection prevalence among Congolese women with normal cervical cytology in southwestern Congo, in order to establish a data baseline necessary to improve the HPV infections prevention and screening. Between November 2010 and February 2011, cervical samples of 219 women attending the General Hospital of Loandjili who had a normal cervical smear dated less than one year in cytopathological Unit register were investigated. Liquid based cytology samples were obtained using a cytobrush. A portion of the sample was used to confirm the cytological diagnosis and another one for the HPV detection by nested-PCR and direct sequencing. Overall, 204 women were included. HPV prevalence was 23.5% (48). HR-HPV and LR-HPV infection was detected in 29 (60.4%) and 19 (39.6%) of study participants respectively. Thirteen HPV genotypes were identified. The most common genotypes were HPV16, 13 (27%), HPV70, 8 (16.6%), HPV33 and HPV6, 5 (10.4%). A decreasing trend of HPV infection was observed as the age increases, 38.6% below 30 years to 11.1% over 60 years (p=0,379). Conclusion : HPV prevalence among Congolese study women with normal cervical cytology was high. Knowledge of the type-specific HPV distribution in women with normal cytology could help to establish the frequency in the cytological monitoring of women between two screenings. Keywords: Human papillomavirus prevalence, Normal cervical cytology, Pointe-noire, Southwestern Congo 1. Introduction Worldwide, cervical cancer (CC) is the fourth most important female cancer despite an increasing incidence estimated at 528,000 new cases per 100.000 women [1]. More than, 85 % of this estimated new cases occur in developing countries, where it is the leading cause of cancer deaths in women and accounts for 13% of all female cancers [2]. Africa is one of the most affected regions in the world, with an estimated age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of 42.7 in Eastern Africa and 30.6 in Central Africa [1]. In the Republic of Congo, the situation remains broadly similar to the rest of SSA. Indeed, age-standardized incidence rate is estimated at 27.2 per 100.000 women each year, making it the second most common cancer among Congolese women. However, it remains the leading cause of female cancer deaths with a mortality rate age-standardized at 17.6 per 100.000 women [3, 4]. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection has been recognized as the main causal agent of CC and persistent infection with oncogenic genotypes is required to cause cancer [5, 6]. More than 150 HPV are well-characterized, of which 40 are known to infect the genital tract [7, 8]. Different epidemiological studies have suggested that about 50–75% of sexually active women are infected with HPV at some point of their lives [9]. However, distribution and prevalence of HPV infection rates vary largely between geographical regions worldwide [10]. Furthermore, the burden of disease is mostly shared by 2 types (HPV 16 and 18) which are commonly reported in scientific literature as responsible of 70% of lesions [11]. Knowledge related to the involvement of HPV in the development of CC has led to improved public health programs for the prevention and fight against this disease. The introduction of sensitive and specific diagnostic tests and the programs adapted screening are essential in the identification of HPV infections at a very early stage among women without cervical abnormalities. HPV data obtained on the cytologically normal women revealed important aspects of HPV infection to identify some risk population and adjust the monitoring interval relative to the Pap test. However, these data show some differences by region and age groups [12]. The HPV prevalence in women with normal cervical cytology ranges from 1.4% in Spain to 25.6% in Nigeria, and young women are the most affected [13, 14]. To our knowledge, the Congolese population is very poorly studied and no study has yet estimated the prevalence of HPV in women with normal cytology. In this Hospital-based study, we aimed to determine HPV prevalence and type distribution profile among Congolese women with normal cervical cytology in the southwestern part of the country in order to provide valuable information for health policy Paper ID: SUB151909 521