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Male virgins infected with HPV despite no intercourse
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Male virgins who did not have penetrative sex were nonetheless infected with HPV, although at a slower rate than did nonvirgins, according to a recent study.
In addition, nearly half of men who were previously virgins and had penetrative sex during the study were infected with HPV within 2 years, researchers wrote in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
“These findings highlight the rapid acquisition of HPV after sexual debut among men and thus emphasize the importance of HPV vaccination before sexual debut,” researcher Zhiyue Liu, of the epidemiology department at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, and colleagues wrote. “However, as men remain at risk for HPV infection throughout their lives, HPV vaccination at older ages provides benefit.”
The study included men between ages 18 and 70 years from Tampa, Florida, São Paulo, Brazil, and Cuernavaca, Mexico. Through an 88-item computer-assisted interview, the men provided information about their sexual behavior and other factors. They answered similar questions during follow-up visits over a 6-year period.
In all, 87 men included in the study were deemed virgins, and 3,834 were nonvirgins. The researchers defined virgins as those who reported never having had oral sex or penetrative sex. None of those deemed virgins tested positive for STDs other than HPV, the researchers said.
Participants deemed virgins at enrollment were later classified as virgins not initiating sex (VNIS) if they reported during follow-up visits that they had had no penetrative sex. Those who reported at follow-up that they had had any penetrative sex were classified as virgins initiating sex (VIS). The men were tested for HPV via genital swab samples during the study.
The rate of HPV infection among VNIS was close to that in nonvirgins, at 26.2 infections per 1,000 person-months compared with 28.8 per 1,000 person-months, respectively. The rate among VIS was 14.6 infections per 1,000 person-months.
Among VIS, 28.7% were infected with HPV within 1 year of initiating sex, and 45.5% were infected within 2 years, the researchers said.
They suggested that HPV can be transmitted by means other than sexual intercourse, and that more data are needed to further understand the epidemiology of the disease.
“It is postulated that nonpenetrative sexual contact is a possible route for HPV acquisition among VNIS, although these infections may include detection of nonproductive infections,” Liu and colleagues wrote. “Future prospective studies with a larger sample of virgins that collect information on nonpenetrative sex behavior … and sample HPV from nonpenile sites (eg, hand, oral and anal sites) are necessary to better understand HPV transmission among virgins.” – by Joe Green
Disclosures: The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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