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Researchers found that more than 45
percent of women with HIV may never have been exposed to the most common
high-risk forms of the human papillomavirus (HPV). This means that many of
these young women can benefit from the HPV vaccine, even if they have already
been exposed to HPV.
Jessica Kahn, M.D., of Cincinnati
Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the University of Cincinnati College of
Medicine, and colleagues analyzed blood and tissue samples from 99 HIV-infected
women aged 16 to 23 years, who had received the initial HPV vaccine. They
examined the specimens for evidence of existing HPV infection and previous
exposure to HPV. The researchers also tested for the presence of 41 of the more
than 100 types of HPV—including 13 high-risk types.
Results show that 75 percent of the
women had an existing HPV infection with at least one type of HPV virus and 54
percent tested positive for a high-risk type. Nearly half of the women had no
existing infection with the two types (HPV-16 and HPV-18) that cause 70 percent
of cervical cancers and showed no evidence of exposure to them. When the women
received their first HPV vaccination, 12 percent had an existing HPV-16
infection, and 5 percent had an HPV-18 infection. When tested for HPV 16-and
HPV-18 individually, nearly 75 percent of women had no current HPV-18 infection
and no evidence of exposure. More than half (56 percent) had no current
infection or previous exposure to HPV-16. The full report, “Prevalence and Risk
Factors for HPV in HIV-Positive Young Women Receiving Their First HPV
Vaccination,” was published in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndromes (2012; 61(3):390–399).
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is
dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and
empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV
virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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