HPV Infects Kids

Transmission of human papillomavirus during sexual acivity is the most publicized, but this is not the only way it can be spread. HPV infection can also occur during birth, and when it does, it frequently results in persistent infection. It can also be transmitted by hands.

Perinatal infection and persistence of human papillomavirus types 16 and 18 in infants. J Cason, JN Kaye, RJ Jewers, PK Kambo, JM Bible, B Kell, B Shergill, F Pakarian, KS Raju, JM Best. J Med Virol 1995 Nov;47(3):209-218. Six of ten doubly infected mothers doubly infected their infants.

High-genital papillomavirus infections are spread vertically. PS Rice, J Cason, JM Best, JE Banatvala. Rev Med Virol 1999 Jan-Mar;9(1):15-21. "we present evidence for vertical transmission from at least 30% HPV positive mothers to their infants, resulting in persistent infection in children. That the mother is the source of infant infection has been confirmed by DNA sequencing." 48% of children under 11 years old may be infected with high-risk HPV-16.

Human papillomavirus infections in children: the potential role of maternal transmission. S Syrjanen, M Puranen. Crit Rev Oral Biol Med 2000;11(2):259-274. Extensive Review.

High prevalence of human papillomavirus type 16 infection among children. PS Rice, C Mant, J Cason, JM Bible, P Muir, B Kell, JM Best. J Med Virol 2000 May;61(1):70-75. In this study in London, 267 healthy children aged 3 to 11 were tested for the presence of HPV DNA in their mouths. HPV DNA was detected in only 45 (16.8%) by less-sensitive generic PCR, while HPV-16 specific nested PCR detected HPV-16 DNA in 138 (51.7%) of the samples. The prevalence of infection was similar regardless of age or sex. Also, in 6/53 (11.3%) of HPV-16 positive samples, reverse transcriptase PCR determined that there was active infection. (HPV-16 is the most common high-risk HPV type.)

Transmission of high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) between parents and infant: a prospective study of HPV in families in Finland. MA Rintala, SE Grenman, MH Puranen, E Isolauri, U Ekblad, PO Kero, SM Syrjanen SM. J Clin Microbiol 2005 Jan;43(1):376-381. "The Finnish HPV Family Study is a prospective cohort study assessing the dynamics of human papillomavirus (HPV) transmission between parents and infant. Serial genital and oral scrapings from 76 families, including mother, father, and infant, and semen samples were collected over 2 years of follow-up, analyzed by nested PCR, and confirmed by hybridization with 12 high-risk (HR) HPV types. The most common HPV profile was HR HPV in all family members (29%), followed by HPV-positive mother-infant pairs (26%). HPV-positive father-infant pairs were less frequent (11%), and in six (8%) families, only the infant was HR HPV positive. The prevalence of genital HR HPV in the parents ranged from 13 to 25%, and that of oral HPV ranged from 8 to 34%. In the infants, HPV DNA was detected in 15% of the genital and 10% of the oral samples at birth, reaching peaks of 18 and 21%, respectively, at 6 months, and declining to 10% at 24 months. Persistent HPV in the mother was a risk factor for oral HPV in the infant (odds ratio [OR], 5.69; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.5 to 21.3), while oral HPV in the mother at 6 months was a risk factor for genital HR HPV (OR, 6.38; 95% CI, 1.15 to 35.32). No such independent risk could be attributed to subclinical HPV in the father. Persistent maternal cervical HPV and subclinical oral HPV affect the risk of infant HPV. The age of 6 months is a critical point for the infant to acquire or be free of HR HPV DNA." Also, "HPV DNA has been detected in amniotic fluid (18, 30), fetal membranes (27), placental trophoblastic cells (4), and infants born by cesarean section (4, 16, 25, 27, 30), as well as in spontaneously aborted material (7). Vertical transmission from mother to infant is well documented (4, 14, 16, 24-27). The concordance between HPV types detected in infants and their mothers ranges from 57 to 69%, suggesting that HPV infections in infants may be acquired from sources other than the mother (23).... HPV DNA has been detected in 8 to 64% of semen samples from asymptomatic men (2, 6, 13, 19), both in the seminal plasma and in spermatozoa (11). Furthermore, HPV is actively transcribed in sperm cells (10, 11)."

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cast 02-28-07