Detection of human papillomavirus genotypes (HPV-16) and (HPV-18) in women with abnormal cervical cytology in Al-Diwaniyah Province, Iraq

Objective: To identify the human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes; HPV-16 and HPV-18 from women with abnormal cervical cytology. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, 100 females 17 to 60 years of age (mean: 34 years) with abnormal cervical cytology were included. For each woman, two tissue specimens i.e. one for a pap smear and one for a genetic study were collected. The genetic study was carried out by using conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for confirmation of diagnosis. A real-time PCR (RT-PCR) was done on positive samples for the detection of the genotypes. Results: We found that 64 (64%) out of 100 patients had abnormal tissue findings. The RT-PCR demonstrated that 32 (88.88%) samples were positive for the HPV 16 and HPV 18, at 20 cycles (55.55%) and 12 cycles (33.33%), respectively, with four (11.11%) samples showing unknown genotypic identity. Conclusion: The present investigation provides novel information about the status of the human papillomavirus infection in women from Al-Diwaniyah Province with important reporting of HPV-16 and HPV-18 genotypes. Samples of this Province are mainly positive for the HPV 16 and HPV 18 with high percentages.