Recurring infection with ecologically distinct HPV types can explain high prevalence and diversity.

ABSTRACT: The high prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection, arises from the coexistence of over 200 genetically distinct types. Accurately predicting the impact of vaccines that target multiple types requires understanding the factors that determine HPV diversity. The diversity of many pathogens is driven by type-specific or "homologous" immunity, which promotes the spread of variants to which hosts have little immunity. To test for homologous immunity and to identify mechanisms determining HPV transmission, we fitted nonlinear mechanistic models to longitudinal data on genital infections in unvaccinated men. Our results provide no evidence for homologous immunity, instead showing that infection with one HPV type strongly increases the risk of infecti

SUBMITTER: Ranjeva SL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5754802 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature