Betapapillomaviruses frequently persist in the skin of healthy individuals

Infections with human papillomaviruses (HPVs) belonging to the genus Betapapillomavirus have been linked to the development of non-melanoma skin cancer. Although persistence is expected, systematic investigation of this aspect of betapapillomavirus (beta-PV) infection has not been conducted. This study investigated the prevalence and persistence of 25 known beta-PV types in the skin of immunocompetent individuals. Over a 2 year period, eight consecutive plucked eyebrow hair samples taken from 23 healthy individuals were analysed for the presence of beta-PV DNA. Using a recently published general beta-PV PCR and genotyping method, 61% of the individuals were beta-PV DNA positive for one or more types at intake, whereas during follow-up this percentage rose to 96%. HPV23 was the most frequently detected beta-PV type. Type-specific beta-PV DNA was detected over 6 months or longer in 74% of the individuals. In 57% of the individuals, DNA from multiple beta-PV types was detected simultaneously for 6 months or longer. When the detection intervals of all beta-PV type-specific infections in the study population were considered, a substantial proportion, 48%, lasted at least half a year. The consistent beta-PV patterns found over time in most individuals strongly suggested that beta-PV DNA detection in plucked eyebrow hairs reveals true beta-PV infection. If the minimum interval of detection was set at 6 months, persistent beta-PV infections were found in the majority of the study population (74%).