Cervical samples dried on filter paper and dried vaginal tampons can be useful to investigate the circulation of high-risk HPV in Congo.

BACKGROUND

High-risk HPV (HR-HPV) are associated with the development of cervical cancer, the most common cancer in women in developing countries. Reliable diagnosis of HR-HPV infection combined with simple procedures to collect and store biological samples, could improve primary screening programs and vaccine strategies in these areas.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate HR-HPV detection in conventional and dried samples.

STUDY

DESIGN

The presence of HR-HPV in 31 women in Republic of Congo (Central Africa) has been investigated by using standard cervical samples and dried cervical samples collected on filter paper and vaginal tampons. The detection of HPV DNA was performed in the Laboratory of virology in Lille (France) by using Hybrid capture 2 and HPV 16/18/45 Probe Set Test.

RESULTS

22 standard samples were found positive for the detection of HR-HPV (71%). HPV 16/18/45 was displayed in 15 out of 22 samples positive for HR-HPV (68%). The correlations between HPV detection by using standard samples and samples dried on filter paper and dried tampons were 90.3% (kappa = 0.77) and 80.6% (kappa = 0.5) respectively. The sensitivity and the specificity of HPV detection reached 91% and 89%, respectively, with samples dried on filter paper and were 86% and 67%, respectively, for dried tampons compared with standard samples.

CONCLUSION

Dried cervical samples and dried vaginal tampons can represent an alternative to conventional sampling to reduce barriers to large screening programs in developing countries and to facilitate storage and transport to reference centers.