Concurrent HPV infection in oral and genital mucosa

Screening for human papillomavirus (HPV) types was performed by a PCR-based assay on 29 women (mean age 34.0 years, range 21-48 years). HPV-DNA was demonstrated in 16 women (55.2%), with a detection rate of 37.9% in the oral cavity and 34.5% in the genital tract. HPV-16 was the most prevalent genotype (53.8%), followed by HPV-6, which was present in 34.6% of the positive samples. Other types were more rarely detected. Five subjects showed concurrent genital tract and oral cavity infections but HPV type-specific concordance was detected in only 3 patients. Multiple HPV infections were found in 9 of the 26 positive samples, where HPV-6 appeared frequently associated with the other types. These data confirm the occurrence of mixed HPV infections and the wide diffusion of different types of HPV in the genital mucosa and in the oral cavity; they also stress the need to utilize diagnostic methods with a wide typing capacity.