Title
Cervical HPV infection in female sex workers: A global perspective
Date Issued
01 January 2013
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Publisher(s)
Bentham Science Publishers B.V.
Abstract
Introduction: Approximately 291 million women worldwide are HPV DNA carriers. Studies have indicated that having multiple sexual partners may lead to higher HPV transmission. Thus female sex workers (FSWs) may be at greater risk of infection compared to the general population. Herein we review publications with data on FSW cervical HPV test results. We also examine variations of HPV prevalence and risk behaviors by region. Knowledge of prevalent HPV types in FSWs may lead to improved prevention measures and assist in understanding vaccination in high-risk groups. Methods: We conducted a review of the literature by searching PUBMED using the terms "prostitution" or "female sex workers", "human papillomavirus" or "HPV", and "prevalence" or "PCR" to find articles. We excluded studies without HPV testing or HPV type specific results, or unconventional HPV testing. Results: A total of 35 peer-reviewed publications were included in our review. High risk HPV types 16 and 18 ranged from 1.1-38.9% in prevalence. In addition to high-risk HPV types, newer studies reported non-carcinogenic HPV types also of high prevalence. The most prevalent HPV types reported among FSWs included HPV 6 (11.5%), 16 (38.9%), 18 (23.1%), 31 (28.4%), 52 (32.7%), and 58 (26.0%). Conclusions: Female sex workers have an overall high prevalence of HPV infection of high-risk types as evident through various testing methods. FSWs are thought to be at increased risk of cervical cancer because of high HPV exposure. This highlights the need for HPV and cervical prevention campaigns tailored to FSWs. © Soohoo et al.
Start page
58
End page
66
Volume
7
Issue
1
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Salud pública, Salud ambiental Enfermedades infecciosas
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-84896881945
Source
Open AIDS Journal
ISSN of the container
18746136
Sources of information: Directorio de Producción Científica Scopus