Study on the Clinical Characteristics, Persistent Infection Ability and Viral Load of Human Papillomavirus Type 73 Single Infection

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a main cause of cervical cancer. Different HPV types exhibit significant differences in pathogenicity. Clinical data on HPV73 single infection is limited, this study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics of HPV73 single infections. We collected cervical exfoliated cells to examine the infection rate and the clinical characteristics of patients with single HPV73 infection, and to investigate the association of viral load, persistent infection, and pathogenicity. The positive rate of HPV73 among women tested was approximately 0.14% (609/435 072). Among 214 HPV73 single infection cases, the number of patients with normal cytology, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)1, CIN2, CIN3, and cervical cancer were 182, 24, 5, 1, and 1, respectively. Follow-up data showed that 14.29% (3/21) of CIN1 patients developed to higher-grade lesions, with 3.73% (5/134) of normal patients progressed to CIN. The viral load in the CIN group was significantly higher than that in the normal group (p = 0.001), and the viral load in the persistent infection group was significantly higher than that of the viral-clearance group (p < 0.001). HPV73 single infection can lead to cervical cancer, with relatively low pathogenicity. And high viral load is a crucial factor in its persistent infection and pathogenicity.