[Human papillomavirus genotype distribution in cervical infections among woman in La Plata, Argentina].

Genital infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted viral diseases. High risk HPV are now considered the main etiologic agent of cancer of the uterine cervix and their high-grade precursor lesions. The aim of the present study was to investigate the endemic HPV-genotype spectrum in a population of women from the city of La Plata, Argentina. With this purpose, 718 cervical scrapes or biopsies corresponding to 152 normal samples (Pap I/II), 84 samples classified as atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), 100 condyloma, 279 low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LGSIL), 82 high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HGSIL), and 21 squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) were studied. The detection of HPV-DNA was performed by nested polymerase chain reaction, using My 09/11 and Gp 05/06. The viral genotypes were analyzed by single-stranded conformation polymorphisms, employing low ionic strength solution (LIS-SSCP). The overall prevalence of HPV infection was 75% in the analyzed population, with a frequency of 46% for normal cervix, 69% for ASCUS, 86% for condyloma, 80% for LGSIL, 98% for HGSIL and 100% for SCC. The most prevalent viral types were HPV 16 (35%), followed by HPV 6/11 (27% each one), HPV 33 (6%) and HPV 18 (5%). HPV 16 was the most prevalent viral type among women with LGSIL, HGSIL and SCC, representing 33%, 50% and 67% of the genital infections, respectively. HPV 6 and 11 were the most frequent viral types among samples classified as Pap I/II, ASCUS and condyloma. Women between 21 and 30 year old showed the highest prevalence of HPV positivity, compraising the 32.2% of total infections.