Prevalence of High-Risk Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Genotypes 16 and 18 among HIV-Positive Women with Abnormal Cervical Cytology at Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Kenya

Aims

To determine the prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes 16 and 18 among HIV-positive women with abnormal cervical cytology at Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Kenya. Study Design: A prospective cross-sectional study. Place and Duration of Study: The Comprehensive Care Centre and Cancer Care and Research Centre, Machakos Level 5 Hospital, Machakos County, Eastern Kenya, from July to December 2020. Methodology: Four hundred HIV-positive women aged 18 years and above attending the Comprehensive Care Centre were recruited. Cervical samples were collected using a cytobrush and processed using manual liquid-based cytology. Cytological findings were classified according to the 2014 Bethesda System. Residual samples from women with abnormal cervical cytology were preserved at −80°C and tested for HPV genotypes 16 and 18 using the HPV 16/18 Real-TM Quant real-time polymerase chain reaction assay. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, with statistical significance set at P < 0.05.