Detection of Cervical Human Papillomavirus by Molecular Probes

To the Editor.—  Genital infection with human papillomavirus (HPV) is a matter of concern because of its increasing prevalence and because some types of the virus may be oncogenic. We have studied the prevalence of HPV infection in women having routine cervical cytology in the family planning clinic at Women's Hospital, Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center.Four hundred forty-two women had cervical scrapings taken for cytological examination and HPV detection. The mean age was 27.2 years, and 95% of the subjects were Hispanic. Viral DNA was extracted from cervical cells, bound to nylon membranes, and identified by its reaction with a mixture of radiolabeled RNA probes specific for HPV types 6 and 11,16 and 18, and 31,33,35 (Human Papillomavirus DNA Detection Kit, Virapap; Life Technologies, Inc, Gaithersburg, Md, 1987).¹ Positive samples were typed with group-specific probes for these viral types (Human Papillomavirus DNA Typing Kit, Viratype;