We studied the genotype distribution of cervical human papillomavirus (HPV)
infections in an age-stratified sample of 262 women in Mozambique using th
e PGMY09-PGMY11 primer system in a reverse line-blot strip-based assay with
high sensitivity in type-specific amplification. Despite the low precision
of the estimates, we found that HPV-16 was not the dominant type. Instead,
HPV 35 was the most commonly identified genotype among HPV-positive women
(16/96 [17%]) and women with cervical neoplasia (7/23 [30%]). Certain genot
ypes might have been under-detected in previous studies, and type-specific
HPV distributions might vary across populations. Therefore, the estimated p
roportion of cervical neoplasia that could be prevented by an HPV-16-based
vaccine could be lower than expected.