PONE-D-22-28450Human papillomavirus genotype distribution among women with and without cervical cancer: Implication for vaccination and screening in Ghana.PLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Yvonne Nartey,

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This is an well written article on the topic of HPV in Ghana. The analysis presented in the paper are really interesting. I would leave a minor comment on enriching the discussion. In the last paragraph, you might include two or three sentences on Ghana's existing HPV screening program and how your study findings can improve the existing approach.

Reviewer #2: Nartey and colleagues present an interesting study on the prevalence of different HPV genotypes among women in Ghana. Studies like this are particularly important in understanding if newer vaccines are needed to treat different strains and the effectiveness of HPV vaccination in other areas. Additional comments are noted below.

*In line 109, authors state that HPV vaccine effectiveness studies have mainly been conducted among Caucasians. While there is a lack of diversity in research participants in biomedical research, this statement ignores the positive gains made in preventing cervical cancer in multiple countries that has had benefits for people across multiple races. Additionally, this statement seems out of place considering the authors do not mention race and ethnicity throughout the article. The authors should consider either removing this statement are include additional information about how research is needed among different races/ ethnicities and results from this study differ from previous studies conducted among majority Caucasian populations.

*It's unclear if the authors are trying to promote the usage of currently available HPV vaccines in Ghana or if they are requesting a new one. It would be helpful if the authors were clearer about this. Especially in lines 470-471 in the conclusion.

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Reviewer #1: Yes: Abdullah Nurus Salam Khan

Reviewer #2: No

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Human papillomavirus genotype distribution among women with and without cervical cancer: Implication for vaccination and screening in Ghana.

PONE-D-22-28450R1

Dear Dr. Yvonne Nartey,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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Kind regards,

Gulzhanat Aimagambetova

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: All comments have been addressed

Reviewer #2: All comments have been addressed

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2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This is a very important paper on the topic. Authors have addressed the comments and feedback adequately.

Reviewer #2: The authors did a great job in addressing reviewer comments! I have no additional comments or concerns about this publication.

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7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean?). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy.

Reviewer #1: Yes: Abdullah Nurus Salam Khan

Reviewer #2: No

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