Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus in Different Mucous Membranes in HIV Concordant Couples in Rwanda

Schifra Uwamungu; Bethelehem Nigussie; Claude Mambo Muvunyi; Bengt Hasséus; Maria Andersson; Daniel Giglio

doi:10.3390/v15041005

Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus in Different Mucous Membranes in HIV Concordant Couples in Rwanda

Viruses. 2023 Apr 19;15(4):1005. doi: 10.3390/v15041005.

Authors

Schifra Uwamungu^{1

2}, Bethelehem Nigussie³, Claude Mambo Muvunyi^{4

5}, Bengt Hasséus^{6

7}, Maria Andersson^{8

9}, Daniel Giglio^{1

10

11}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Pharmacology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
² Department of Biomedical Laboratory Sciences, School of Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 3286, Rwanda.
³ Department of Pathology, Armauer Hansen Research Institute, Addis Ababa P.O. Box 1005, Ethiopia.
⁴ Department of Clinical Biology, School of Medicine and Pharmacy, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Rwanda, Kigali P.O. Box 3286, Rwanda.
⁵ Rwanda Biomedical Center, Kigali P.O. Box 7162, Rwanda.
⁶ Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology, Institute of Odontology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, P.O. Box 450, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁷ Clinic of Oral Medicine, Public Dental Service, SE-40233 Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁸ Department of Infectious Diseases, Institute of Biomedicine, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, SE-40530 Gothenburg, Sweden.
⁹ Department of Clinical Microbiology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SE-41346 Gothenburg, Sweden.
¹⁰ Department of Oncology, Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, SE-41345 Gothenburg, Sweden.
¹¹ Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, SE-41345 Gothenburg, Sweden.

Abstract

Background: The prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) infections in other anatomical sites besides the uterine cervix is unknown in East Africa. Here, we assessed the prevalence and concordance of HPVs in different anatomical sites in HIV concordant couples in Rwanda.

Methods: Fifty HIV-positive concordant male-female couples at the HIV clinic at the University Teaching Hospital of Kigali in Rwanda were interviewed, swabbed from the oral cavity (OC), oropharynx (OP), anal canal (AC), vagina (V), uterine cervix (UC) and penis. A pap smear test and a self-collected vaginal swab (Vself) were taken. Twelve high-risk (HR)-HPVs were analyzed.

Results: HR-HPVs occurred in 10%/12% in OC, 10%/0% in OP and 2%/24% in AC (p = 0.002) in men and women, respectively. HR-HPVs occurred in 24% of UC, 32% of Vself, 30% of V and 24% of P samples. Only 22.2% of all HR-HPV infections were shared by both partners (κ -0.34 ± 0.11; p = 0.004). The type-specific HR-HPV concordance was significant between male to female OC-OC (κ 0.56 ± 0.17), V-VSelf (κ 0.70 ± 0.10), UC-V (κ 0.54 ± 0.13), UC-Vself (κ 0.51 ± 0.13) and UC-female AC (κ 0.42 ± 0.15).

Conclusions: HPV infections are prevalent in HIV-positive couples in Rwanda but concordance within couples is low. Vaginal self-sampling for HPV is representative of cervical HPV status.

Keywords: HIV; Rwanda; cervical cancer; human papillomavirus; mucous membrane.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Female
Genotype
HIV Infections* / epidemiology
Human Papillomavirus Viruses
Humans
Male
Mucous Membrane
Papillomaviridae / genetics
Papillomavirus Infections* / epidemiology
Prevalence
Rwanda / epidemiology
Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida; 2019/37:9), the Assar Gabrielsson Foundation (FB21-49) and the Wilhelm and Martina Lundgren Foundation (2019-2833).