Prevalence of cutaneous beta and gamma human papillomaviruses in the anal canal of men who have sex with women

•β and γ HPV types commonly colonize the anal canal of MSW, but their geographical variation in prevalence could be wide.•HIV-positive men were more likely to have both genera of HPV types detected.•Routes other than penile-anal intercourse may be important in cutaneous HPV transmission.

BackgroundData regarding anal cutaneous HPV detection among HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons largely relies on studies among men who have sex with men in limited geographical settings. Understanding the distribution, determinants, and potential human health effects of anal cutaneous HPV types among men who have sex with women (MSW) is important.MethodsAnal canal swab samples from 415 Russian MSW (384 HIV-negative and 31 HIV-positive) were tested for 43 β-HPVs and 29 γ-HPVs, using a multiplex PCR combined with Luminex technology.Resultsβ-HPV was detected in 24.4% and γ-HPV in 15.9% of anal samples of all Russian MSW. In total, 34 β-HPV and 19 γ-HPV types were detected, with the most commonly detected β-HPV types being 110, 22 and 124 and the most common γ-HPV types being 95, 132 and 50. For both genera, being HIV-positive at the time of testing was a significant determinant of detection (74.2% for β-HPVs and 48.4% for γ-HPVs compared to 20.1% and 12.5% in HIV-negative MSW, respectively).ConclusionsA wide spectrum and moderate prevalence of anal β-HPV and γ-HPV types was found in our MSW study sample, suggesting that routes other than penile-anal intercourse may be important in cutaneous HPV transmission.