Association between Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection and Neisseria Gonorrhea Among Women Screened for HPV in A Rural Community, Southwest Nigeria: A Case-Control Study

Introduction : Persistence and progression of HPV infection, which is a risk factor for cervical cancer, may be influenced by co-infection with sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as Neisseria gonorrhea. This study aimed to assess the association between HPV infection and gonorrhea among women already screened for HPV in a rural community. Methods : A case-control study was conducted on stored self-sampled vaginal specimens of 186 women who were already screened for HPV in a rural community, Southwest Nigeria. Ninety-three specimens with confirmed HPV infection (cases) and 93 HPV-negative specimens (controls) were purposively selected. These specimens were tested for Neisseria gonorrhea using the PowerGene ^(R) PCR machine. Available secondary sociodemographic data for these women were retrieved. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 22, with Fisher’s exact test and odds ratio calculated to determine the association at a significance level of p < 0.05. Results : The prevalence of Neisseria gonorrhea among HPV-positive women was 6.45% compared to 1.1% among HPV-negative women. All co-infections were observed in women under 35 years old. The odds of gonorrhea infection were higher among HPV-positive women (OR = 6.33, 95% CI = 0.75–53.56, p = 0.12). Conclusion : The result indicates a potentially meaningful link between HPV and Neisseria gonorrhea infection; HPV-positive women have higher odds of having gonorrhea compared to HPV-negative women, although this was not statistically significant. A larger sample size might be needed to improve accuracy.