Association of human papillomavirus viral load with HPV16 and high‐grade intraepithelial lesion

. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between viral type and copy number of human papillomavirus (HPV) with respect to the grade of cervical disease, and also to identify the existence of an HPV type‐dependent viral load effect. DNA from 275 exocervical specimens, previously evaluated for histologic diagnosis, were evaluated for HPV presence, HPV type, and viral load. Viral load determination was performed using the low stringency PCR method (LS‐PCR). Significant differences were found between the samples infected with HPV16 with respect to the samples infected with other ‘high‐risk’ viral types (HPV −18, −31, −33 or −51) and ‘low‐risk’ types (P