Genital oncogenic human papillomavirus infection: a short review on the mode of transmission.
The most common oncogenic human papillomaviruses (HPVs) detected in the female lower genital tract are HPV types 16 and 18. They are ancient viruses which have evolved with mankind over the last 200 000 years. The identification of their roles in the development of carcinoma of the uterine cervix in the last decade fills the gap between the long-sought link between sexual behaviour and risk of cervical cancer. Indeed, epidemiological, clinical and sophisticated molecular studies employing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing techniques have established the sexual transmissibility of these viruses. However, there is also compelling evidence indicating that these viruses can be transmitted through non-sexual routes. These include vertical transmission when an infant passes through the HPV-infected birth canal of the mother during vaginal delivery, and transmission by formites contaminated by HPV-infected cells. The long latent phase of HPV infection poses difficulties for accurate identification of the route of infection in an individual patient. Genital oncogenic HPV infection in a woman should not be treated as a venereal disease exclusively, and such patients should be counselled appropriately.