Feasibility, Acceptability, and Accuracy of Vaginal Self-Sampling for Screening Human Papillomavirus Types in Women from Rural Areas in Senegal

Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2019 Jun;100(6):1552-1555. doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.19-0045.

Abstract

Vaginal self-sampling and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing can be useful tools for women with limited access to health care living in sub-Saharan Africa. To assess the feasibility and acceptability of vaginal self-sampling and high-risk HPV prevalence in two villages of central Senegal, women were asked to self-sample vaginal swabs for HPV detection in May, 2016. Vaginal swabs were collected from 133 women and were tested for HPV genotyping. The acceptability rate of vaginal self-sampling was 98.5%, and 99.2% of the women (133/134) used the device correctly. The quality of self-sampling was satisfactory in 100% of the samples; 10.5% of the samples were positive for HPV, including 6% with high-risk HPV types and 4% with low-risk HPV types. This preliminary study indicates that vaginal self-sampling is a valuable strategy for high-risk HPV detection and cervical cancer screening in a population of women not attending gynecologic screening in rural areas of Senegal.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Early Detection of Cancer
  • Feasibility Studies
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Middle Aged
  • Papillomaviridae / classification
  • Papillomaviridae / isolation & purification*
  • Papillomavirus Infections / diagnosis*
  • Papillomavirus Infections / epidemiology
  • Papillomavirus Infections / virology
  • Patient Acceptance of Health Care
  • Rural Population*
  • Senegal / epidemiology
  • Specimen Handling*
  • Vaginal Diseases / epidemiology
  • Vaginal Diseases / virology*
  • Vaginal Smears / standards*