[Detection of human type 16 papillomavirus in epithelial cells of the uterine cervix].

Cervical cells obtained by scraping from 126 women living in the Tours area, France, were tested for the presence of HPV 16 infection, using the PCR method. In all samples analysed no evidence was found of HPV 16 b subtype. The incidence of HPV 16 infection ranged from 4% in women without history of genital HPV infection to 48% in women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (SIL). It must be noted that HPV 16 infection is twice as frequent in women with a history of HPV-induced cervical lesions as in those without this history. Thus, a normal cytology does not always mean an absence of HPV infection of the uterine cervix. It may be concluded from these results that detection of cervical HPV 16 infection by the PCR method makes it possible to identify a group of women at high risk of developing SIL or cervical cancer. Regular cytological surveillance of these women who are healthy carriers of HPV 16 without detectable squamous cell abnormalities must be implemented.