HPV Prevalence in a College-aged Sample Group and its Link to Sexual Behaviors and Attitudes

HPV, or Human Papilloma Virus, is the most common Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI). It is the number one STI in men and women. There are over 460 subtypes; a majority of the subtypes are able to be cleared by the human immune system within 3 years after initial infection. However fifteen of these subtypes have been classified as ‘high-risk’ for carcinoma development, accounting for almost 100% of cervical cancers. This STI has an age prevalence starting at 19 for oral and genital infections. The overall goal of this research is to provide students with an equally represented and unbiased database regarding the prevalence of HPV infections on campus and the sexual attitudes/behaviors of college students that could be associated with possible infection rates. This research uses a previously developed polymerase chain reaction screening to detect HPV genome within an oral swab sample. This portion of the research followed a 14-person sample group, in which once a month they completed an oral swab along with a sexual behavior survey during a three-month period. Their screening results were compared with their survey results to examine any possible connections between the attitudes/behaviors that students reported on and the possible student HPV infection rate.