Abstract:
Schistosoma haematobium infection may impair female genital mucosal antiviral defense. We sought to determine whether women with S. haematobium infection had higher odds of
high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) persistence, a pre-requisite to cervical cancer. We also examined cervicovaginal dysbiosis, which has been linked to HR-HPV persistence and schistosome infection. In 96 Tanzanian women with baseline and 9–12-month follow-up samples, we performed HPV genotyping, schistosome antigen quantification, and 16S rRNA sequencing. Both S. haematobium (Odds ratio (OR): 4.7 [1.3–16.5], p=0.017) and Gardnerella-dominant microbiome (p=0.049) were associated with HR-HPV persistence, suggesting these factors may contribute to high cervical cancer rates in Africa.
