ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the epidemiologic characterization of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) infection and genotype distribution of HR-HPV among women in rural areas of China.@*Methods@#This study used multiple layers of stratified cluster random sampling method. During January to December in 2014, 117 counties of 27 provinces were selected as the HPV test screening pilot project counties. The women aged 35-64 years with rural areas Hukou in these project counties were selected as the study subjects. A total 457 799 women received HPV DNA test. Among them, 118 237 women from 32 counties in 11 provinces received qualified HPV DNA test by fluorescent PCR to detect HPV genotypes.@*Results@#Among 118 237 rural women, the overall HR-HPV positive infection rate was 7.8% (9 249/118 237). The infection rate increased with age and reached an infection peak at the 60-64 age groups (9.9%, 831/8 394). The HR-HPV positive infection rate in western regions (6.9%, 2 144/31 130) was statistical significantly lower than in central regions (8.2%, 1 894/23 023) and eastern regions (8.1%, 5 211/64 084) (χ2=51.46, P<0.001). Among 9 249 women with specific genotypes of HR-HPV, 6 496 (97.6%) cases were infected with single HR-HPV type, and 163 cases (2.4% ) were infected with multiple types. HR-HPV type 52, 16 and 58 were the most common infection types in rural areas of China. The single infection rates were 20.9% (1 355/6 496), 18.7% (1 215/6 496), and 11.2% (725/6 496), respectively. The multiple infection rates were 47.2% (77/163), 17.8% (29/163), and 18.4% (30/163), respectively.@*Conclusion@#The HR-HPV positive infection rate in rural areas of Chinese woman was 7.8%, western region has lower infection rate compared with central and eastern regions. HPV 52 was first of the most common genotypes in rural areas of China.