Human papillomavirus DNA in Jewish Israeli women

Jewish women in Israel have a low rate of cervical cancer (4/100,000). The present study was designed to examine possible determinants of that low rate. We prospectively examined the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA - considered to be an etiologic factor of cervical carcinoma - among healthy Jewish Israeli women and in Jewish Israeli women with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 (CIN II). The HPV infection rate has been also compared with that in other countries. Using a reverse hybridization method on cervicovaginal cells obtained by scraping, HPV DNA was detected in 5.8% of 68 healthy Jewish women and in 37.5% of 64 women with CIN II. HPV types 16/18 were found in 4.5% of healthy women and in 29.5% of women with CIN II. The relatively low prevalence of HPV 16/18 in healthy Israeli Jewish women and in women with CIN should be interpreted with caution due to the large variability in study methodology reported by the various studies worldwide.