About the journal

Cobiss

Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2016 Volume 144, Issue 5-6, Pages: 300-306
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1606300K
Full text ( 203 KB)
Cited by


Human papillomavirus infection prevalence in female university students in Novi Sad, Serbia

Kovačević Gordana ORCID iD icon (Institute for Public Health of Vojvodina, Novi Sad)
Jovanović-Galović Aleksandra (Institute for Public Health of Vojvodina, Novi Sad)
Petrović Vladimir ORCID iD icon (Institute for Public Health of Vojvodina, Novi Sad)
Vinarž Željka (Institute for Health Protection of Students, Novi Sad)
Marinković Gordana (Institute for Health Protection of Students, Novi Sad)
Brašanac Bogdanka (Institute for Health Protection of Students, Novi Sad)
Milošević Vesna (Institute for Public Health of Vojvodina, Novi Sad)

Introduction. Cervical cancer, attributed to human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, represents the fourth most common and lethal cancer in Serbian women, and the second most common cancer in women aged 15-44. Objective. The aim of the study was to determine the presence of high-risk and low-risk HPV types in population of unvaccinated female university students in Novi Sad, Serbia, and to evaluate possible risk factors for HPV infection. Methods. Sample consisted of 250 young women (19-26 years of age) attending outpatient clinics for screening gynecological examination. All participants in the study completed a specially designed anonymous questionnaire. For the detection of HPV DNA, two commercial kits - High Risk HPV Real-TM and Low Risk HPV 6/11 Real-TM (Sacace Biotechnologies, Como, Italy) were used. Thirty positive samples were retested by GenoFlow HPV Array Test (DiagCor Bioscience Incorporation Limited, Hong Kong, China). Results. The overall prevalence rate of HPV was 61.6%. The most common HPV types in the present study were as follows: HPV 16, 31, 51, 52, and 18. Female students with only one sexual partner had significantly lower chance of having HPV infection. Other variables describing lifestyle did not show statistical significance. Conclusion. The present paper provides data on the prevalence of high- and low-risk HPV genotypes among university students in Novi Sad. Obtained results indicate the need for educational activities on sexually transmitted infections, including HPV, together with promotion of healthy lifestyles. According to our results, bivalent and quadrivalent prophylactic vaccines have the potential to prevent over 50% of infections. Percentage of protection with a second-generation prophylactic nonavalent vaccine would be more than 80%.

Keywords: human papillomavirus, real-time PCR, students