Prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes in patients with clinical symptoms in Kermanshah, western Iran: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the cause of genital tract infections. This virus can cause diverse diseases, such as warts and anogenital cancers. Despite the WHO recommendations for HPV vaccination, there is no public HPV vaccination plan in Iran. Therefore, the prevalence of HPV infection in Iran is greater than that in countries with vaccination programs.

Objectives: We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of various HPV genotypes in genital specimens from patients with clinical symptoms in western Iran.

Methods: Between 2015 and 2023, 818 vaginal swabs and 26 genital wart samples from females and 28 genital wart samples from males were transferred to the Pars Pathobiology Laboratory (Kermanshah Province) for HPV evaluation. HPV genotyping was performed with two real-time PCR kits and one reverse hybridization kit during the study.

Results: Generally, 38.9% (340/872) of the participants were HPV positive. The prevalence rates of HPV in female vaginal swabs and genital wart samples were 37.4% (306/818) and 61.5% (16/26), respectively; however, the prevalence for males was 64.3% (18/28). The most common high-risk genotype was HPV50 (51, 52, 53, 56, 58, and 59) (26.5%), and among the low-risk genotype was HPV6 (62.9%).

Conclusions: The prevalence of HPV-positive patients was greater than that in some neighboring countries and other regions of Iran. This high prevalence may be due to a lack of public vaccination. Therefore, we should conduct regular screenings for all age groups of females. Males can act as carriers for the virus, and informing men about this infection is essential.