Prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus infection and genotype distribution among Kazakhstani women with abnormal cervical cytology

This study aimed to identify the prevalence and distribution of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) types among Kazakhstani women with abnormal cervical cytology. A cross-sectional study was performed from May 2019 to June 2020. Cervical samples were collected from women in the different regions of Kazakhstan. A total of 316 patients’ samples were analysed for HR-HPV using real-time multiplex PCR. Cervical cytology abnormalities were reported according to the Bethesda classification. HPV detection by cytology showed a statistically significant association with HPV status and the number of HPV infection types (p  There is a high prevalence of HR-HPV types among Kazakhstani women with abnormal cervical cytology. The most identified types were HPV16, 18, 31, 33 and 52. There is an emergency need to implement an HPV vaccination program to prevent cervical lesion development.</p