FREQUENCY AND RISK FACTORS OF CERVICAL HUmAN pApILLOmA VIRUS INFECTION IN WOmEN IN mONTENEGRO

Cervical human papilloma virus (HPV) infection among women from 17 to 62 years of age in Montenegro was studied using in situ hybridization and cytological testing. Cervical HPV infection was diagnosed in 44.3% of women. The most common HPV genotype was 31/33/51 found in 56.9%. HPV positive samples for types 16/18 were identified in 41% HPV positive samples. The results showed that 57% and 45% of women who had had their first sexual intercourse before and after the age of 18, respectively, had cervical HPV infection. Cytological findings of Papanicolaou (Pap) test class III were significantly more common in women smokers. Cervical HPV infection among women in Montenegro is most com- monly caused by HPV genotypes for which a prophylactic vaccine is available, or by phylogenetically related types, thus offering the opportunity of using vaccines to reduce the incidence of HPV infection.