Positivity and prevalence of human papillomavirus among a large population of Hakka women in southern China

Abstract Background Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections are known to be the main cause of cervical cancer. Thus, detecting HPV genotypes is of great significance for cervical cancer screening. To formulate strategies for prevention of cervical cancer, we studied the HPV infection prevalence and age-specific distribution of female in Hakka area of southern China. Method From January, 2016 to July, 2018, 36,871 women from gynecological or reproductive center of Meizhou People’s Hospital (Huangtang Hospital), Meizhou Hospital Affiliated to Sun Yat-sen University were recruited in this study. HPV genotypes was detected by flow cytometry method. Results HPV infection was observed in 18.34% of the participants, and approximately 79.98% of them were infected with high-risk HPV. The 5 most prevalent genotypes were HPV 52 (18.18%), HPV 16 (16.06%), HPV 58 (11.37%), HPV 53 (8.82%) and HPV 39 (6.42%). The most intensive HPV infections were observed in women aged 40-49 and women aged 30-59 added up to 79.62% of positive patients. Conclusion The high HPV infection rate in this Hakka area highlighted the necessity of screening program for HPV infection and cervical cancer among women. The findings of HPV genotypes and the age specific distribution of HPV infection in this area will contribute to the future vaccine development.