Transplacental transmission of HPV

 

 

There is evidence of vertical transmission, presumably occurring during passage of the fetus through an infected birth canal. The virus could also be transmitted by ascending infection, especially after premature rupture of the membranes.

 

In utero transmission could be caused either by ascending infection from an infected birth canal, by sperm at fertilization or hematogenously (transplacentally). HPV DNA has been detected in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of pregnant women, cord blood specimens of neonates, oropharyngeal secretions of neonates, amniotic fluid, fetal membranes, placental trophoblastic cells, infants born by elective cesarean section delivery, and in syncytiotrophoblastic cells of spontaneously aborted material.

 

In addition, there are type-discordant cases between mothers and newborns, suggesting that many of these infants did not acquire the HPV from their mothers. These observations could explain the transplacental transmission of HPV from an infected mother to the fetus. However, only a limited number of women have been studied to confirm placental transmission of HPV.

 

 MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer

ATLANTA (AP) - For the first time, an expensive vaccine aimed at preventing cervical cancer in women has proven successful at preventing a disease in men, according to a new study.

The disease? It's genital warts, a sexually-transmitted problem that is embarrassing and uncomfortable but not life-threatening.

Still, the results are expected to bolster a likely bid by the vaccine's manufacturer - Merck & Co. Inc. - to begin marketing the vaccine to boys, experts said. Merck plans to ask the government for that approval later this year.

"This opens the door to a wonderful opportunity to prevent illness," said Anna Giuliano, a Tampa-based researcher who worked on the Merck-funded study. She is an epidemiologist at the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa.