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Introduction: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) cause considerable morbidity worldwide and, depending on the specific pathogen, may lead to serious complications in the female reproductive tract. Incarcerated women are particularly vulnerable to health problems with a disproportionate high rate of STIs, including infections with human papillomavirus (HPV)., Methods: Here, cervical swab samples collected from 299 women (18 to 64 years) living in one of the women's prisons of São Paulo, Brazil were submitted for liquid-based cytology to determine the prevalence of precancerous lesions. Furthermore, direct detection of 30 genital HPV genotypes (18 high-risk and 12 low-risk types) and 11 additional STIs ( Chlamydia trachomatis , Neisseria gonorrhoeae , Herpes simplex virus 1 and 2, Haemophilus ducreyi , Mycoplasma genitalium and hominis , Treponema pallidum , Trichomonas vaginalis , Ureaplasma parvum and urealyticum ) were performed by molecular typing using two PCR-based DNA microarray systems, i.e., EUROArray HPV and EUROArray STI (EUROIMMUN), respectively., Results: The overall prevalence of cytological abnormalities was 5.8%, including five women with low-grade and five women with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions. The overall prevalence of HPV was 62.2, and 87.1% of the HPV-positive women were infected with oncogenic high-risk (HR) HPV types. HPV types 16 (24.1%), 33 and 52 (both 10.4%) were the most frequently detected. The prevalence of the other STIs was 72.8%. Up to four different pathogens were found in the infected women, the most frequent being Ureaplasma parvum (45.3%), Mycoplasma hominis (36.2%) and Trichomonas vaginalis (24.8%)., Conclusion: The high number of HR-HPV infections and other STIs described here highlights the fact that the Brazilian female prison population requires more attention in the country's health policies. The implementation of screening programs and treatment measures might contribute to a decrease in the incidence of STIs and cervical cancer in this vulnerable population. However, for such measures to be effective, further studies are needed to investigate the best practice to get more women to engage in in-prison prevention programs, e.g., through offering further sexual health education and self-sampling., Competing Interests: AL, AS, MiS, MK, and MC are employees of EUROIMMUN. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zonta, Liljander, Roque, Schillert, Kai, dos Santo, de Freitas, Soane, Cavalar, Janaudis and Shio.)

Unlabelled: Carcinoma of the head and neck is the 6th cause of death by cancer in the world. In recent decades the human papillomavirus (HPV) has been implicated in the etiology of this disease., Objective: To characterize the types of HPV detected in the oral mucosa in women with cytological abnormalities suggesting intraepithelial squamous lesions in the uterine cervix., Methods: Four-hundred-nine cervical-vaginal and oral pap-smears of women interned in a Female Prison in São Paulo were examined. The relationship between cervical and oral lesion was analyzed by PCR/RFLP and DNA sequencing., Results: Of 27 (6.67%) specimens showing cervical cytological abnormalities suggesting LSIL and HSIL, 22 (81.48%) had oncogenic high-risk HPV infection, of which HPV 59 was the most prevalent. Three (11.1%) samples showed cytological changes suggesting mild dysplasia in the oral cavity., Conclusion: Our study suggests an association between carcinoma of the oral cavity and HPV infection, regardless of the virus type.