HPV seminal shedding among men seeking fertility evaluation in Abidjan, Ivory Coast

Background: Little is known about the semen shedding of human papillomaviruses (HPV) in African men. Objectives: To detect and identify HPV types in semen samples from men seeking fertility evaluation in Abidjan, Ivory Cost. Study design: Sixty-three semen samples were tested by PCR using consensus primers and HPV types were determined by PCR product sequencing or by line probe assay (LiPA) when sequencing was inconclusive. Results: A total of 19 HPV isolates belonging to 11 HPV types were identified in semen samples from 18 (28.6%) men. Ten (55.5%) of the HPV-positive men shed oncogenic HPV types. An association of borderline significance (P = 0.06) was observed between HPV semen shedding and a lower sperm count. Conclusion: HPV shedding in semen is common in African men. The relationship between HPV semen shedding and sperm quality merits to be further investigated. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.