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The human papillomavirus (HPV) spreads surprisingly quickly between two people in a new relationship, a new study finds.
In fact, couples in the study were actually more likely to be infected with the same strain or strains of HPV if they had been together less than one year, as opposed to a longer period, the researchers said.
"HPV is very infectious," said study researcher Alan Nyitray, of the H. Lee Mof?tt Cancer Center and Research Institute at the University of South Florida. "When a couple comes together...they're going to share their HPV microbiota very, very quickly."
But people clear the virus at different rates, and so couples who have been together longer are less likely to "match" in terms of their HPV status, Nyitray said.
The study also found that in general, it's common for couples to be infected with the same strain of HPV, or to both be free of infection. About one fourth of heterosexual couples in committed relationships in the study shared at least one strain of HPV, the researchers found. And in more than a third of couples, both people were HPV free.
Nyitray emphasized that for most people, HPV infections are transient, and are not something to worry about.
But because the virus is known to cause cervical cancer, women should undergo regular screening for this cancer, Nyitray said. In addition, those eligible for HPV vaccination should receive it, Nyitray said.
Sharing HPV
Nyitray and colleagues tested 88 couples ages 18 to 70 for HPV infection. Seventy-five percent had been in a monogamous relationship for at least the last six months. None of the participants had a disease associated with HPV.
Overall, about 55 percent of men and 45 percent of women were infected with any strain of HPV.
In 31 couples (35 percent), neither partner had an HPV infection, while 21 couples (24 percent) shared at least one strain of HPV.
In 11 couples (12 percent) both people were infected with HPV, but did not share strains, and 25 couples had only one partner with an HPV infection (28 percent.)
Couples were more likely to share HPV strains if both people were of similar age, a finding that may be related to the strength of the immune response to HPV in older versus younger people. Couples with one young person, who may be exposed to the virus for the first time and take longer to clear it, and one older person, who may clear the infection more quickly, may be less likely to have "matching" strains, the researchers said.
Pairs were more likely to be HPV free if, together, the sum of their total lifetime sexual partners was low, Nyitray said.
Better immunity in women?
Among the couples in which one partner had HPV and the other did not, in 17 cases it was the woman who was HPV free, while in 8 couples it was the man. This finding suggests women have a stronger immune response to HPV, the researchers said.
Couples who were monogamous were no more likely to be infected with the same HPV strains than couples who were not monogamous.
Because the study was small, and monogamy was defined as sex with one partner for at least 6 months, more research is needed to confirm the results, and to see what happens in couples that are monogamous for longer periods, the researchers said.
Nyitray and colleagues are now analyzing information from a second study that followed the participants for two years. Nyitray said he hopes future research will reveal other ways to prevent spread of HPV between sex partners besides vaccination, which currently, most people do not receive.
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4 Comments
Add CommentI've been told by all my doctors that men can't be tested for HPV. Have I been lied to?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI did some searching and this is what I found on WebMD
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"To diagnose genital warts (often the only sign of HPV) in men, the doctor will visually check a man's genital area to see if warts are present. Some doctors will apply a vinegar solution to help identify warts that aren't raised and visible. But the test is not foolproof. Sometimes normal skin is mistakenly identified as a wart.
There is no routine test for men to check for high-risk HPV strains that can cause cancer. However, some doctors are urging anal Pap tests for gay and bisexual men, who are at higher risk of anal cancer caused by HPV. In an anal Pap test, the doctor collects cells from the anus, and then has them checked for abnormalities in a lab."
Also this SciAm article refers to Oral HPV, so perhaps they were primarily doing oral testing on the men? Just guessing there though.
Just wanted to correct that the comment about oral HPV actually was a different article I read, not this one...my apologies. But I do still wonder if they could have been doing oral testing among some of these couples. I suspect the upcoming journal article will explicitly state their methods though.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThanks AseaM. I can see why they say there isn't a test, since in heterosexual men they can only rely on discovering warts, which are only an overt symptom. You can have HPV and there can be no evidence of it, apparently. I do think saying "there is no test" is misleading, however.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm recovering from anal cancer treatment received last year. (I say I'm recovering from the treatment since the radiation and chemo combo is, at least in the short term, quite brutal compared to the actual cancer). I'm hoping to get the vaccine as soon as my white blood counts are in the normal range (if they ever get there). I'd advise anyone to get the shot, including heterosexual men. They can get esophageal (oral) cancer, as well as anal cancer from HPV. The medical industry doesn't know enough to tell you what causes these cancers, and I can guarantee that anal sex isn't required to get anal cancer, based on my case as well as a few others I'm aware of.
It's good that HPV is getting some attention, probably based mostly on cervical cancer dangers. There are relatively few anal cancer cases each year, so research to learn more about it is rarely funded. The drug companies that created the HPV vaccines for cervical cancer are the only ones motivated to do much research on cancers caused by HPV. Sales of these vaccines based on "vaccinating your daughters" haven't met expectations, so they're looking for more cancers to justify vaccinations. For once, their financial motive might help some of us.