Affiliation:
1. School of Public Health Southern Medical University Guangzhou China
2. Guangdong Provincial Institute of Public Health Guangzhou China
3. Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention Guangzhou China
4. School of Public Health Guangdong Pharmaceutical University Guangzhou China
5. School of Public Health Sun Yat‐Sen University Guangzhou China
6. Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine Jinan University Guangzhou China
7. School of Mathematics and Computing Science Guilin University of Electronic Technology Guilin China
Abstract
AbstractSeroepidemiological characteristics of human papillomavirus (HPV) in community residents reflect natural infection and can guide the reform of vaccination programs. A population‐based serological survey was conducted in Guangdong Province. Serum anti‐HPV IgG antibody levels were determined by an ELISA. Neutralizing antibodies against HPV6, 11, 16, and 18 were detected via a pseudovirus‐based neutralization assay (PBNA). A total of 5122 serum samples were collected from community residents, including 1989 males and 3133 females, in three cities of Guangdong Province. The rate of HPV IgG antibody positivity in females was 5.39% (95% CI: 4.6–6.2), which was greater than that in males (2.36%; 95% CI: 1.7–3.1). HPV IgG antibodies were more frequently detected in females aged 51–60 years (11.30%; 95% CI: 7.6–16.0), whereas in males, the detection increased with age and reached 4.94% (95% CI: 2.8–6.9) in the group aged ≥71 years. The seropositivity of neutralizing antibodies against HPV6 and 11 was greater than that against HPV16 and 18. The serum neutralizing antibody titers in individuals who received three doses of a vaccine were 7‐ to 12‐fold greater than those in individuals who did not receive the vaccine. The neutralizing antibody titers slightly decreased within 40 months and ranged from 0.038 to 0.057 log ED50 per month. A moderate consistency between the HPV ELISA and PBNA results was observed (Kappa score = 0.49, r = 0.249, 0.635, 0.382, and 0.466 for HPV6, 11, 16, and 18, respectively). The HPV seropositivity rate among healthy residents of Guangdong Province was found to be low among children and adolescents and to increase with age. The serum neutralizing antibody titers were significantly greater in the vaccine group than that in the control group, and this difference persisted over time, which indicated promising protection against HPV infection.