Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2021 | Human Papillomavirus | Research article
Significant decline of HPV 6 infection and genital warts despite low HPV vaccination coverage in young women in Germany: a long-term prospective, cohort data analysis
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases | Issue 1/2021
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Background
The introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has resulted in a remarkable decline of genital warts in women and men, but in Germany historical rates of vaccination are relatively low. We report long-term surveillance data on changes in HPV 6 and HPV 11 infection and the prevalence of genital warts in young women in the Wolfsburg HPV epidemiological study (WOLVES).
Methods
Women born in 1983/84, 1988/89, and 1993/94 participated in four cohorts between 2009/10 and 2014/15. Quadrivalent vaccination coverage and prevalence of HPV 6/11 infection and genital warts are reported for participants aged 19–22 years and 24–27 years at the time of sample collection. Statistical analyses were done to compare similarly aged participants using 2 × 2 contingency tables (Röhmel-Mansmann unconditional exact test; two-side alpha of 0.05).
Results
A total of 2456 women were recruited. Between 2010 and 2015, there was a statistically significant decrease in the prevalence of HPV 6 infection among women aged 24–27 years (2.1% versus 0.0%; P < 0.0001) and women aged 19–22 years (2.0% versus 0.0%; P = 0.0056). There was no significant decline in HPV 11 infection. In total, 52 of 2341 participants were diagnosed with genital warts. There was a statistically significant drop in the risk of developing genital warts in women aged 24–27 years between 2010 and 2015 (4.7% versus 1.7%, respectively; P = 0.0018). The overall risk of developing genital warts in women aged 19–27 years decreased from 3.1% in 2010 to 1.2% in 2015 (P = 0.0022).
Conclusions
An increase in vaccination coverage was associated with a decreased prevalence of genital warts in young women. A protective effect greater than herd immunity alone was seen despite low vaccination rates. Quadrivalent vaccine had a protective effect on genital HPV 6 infection and an almost fully protective effect on the development of genital warts in the youngest population.