VIRAL LOAD AS A DETERMINANT FOR TRANSMISSION OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE-16 FROM MOTHER-TO-CHILD

Whilst genital papillomaviruses are commonly believed to be sexually t ransmitted, transmission of human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV-16) from mother to child at delivery has been described previously [Pakarian e t al. (in press) British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology]. In or der to determine whether viral load in cervical/vaginal cells was an i mportant determinant of transmission 15 pregnant women with HPV-16 inf ections were studied. Eight of these women had infants who were positi ve for HPV-16 DNA at genital and/or buccal sites. Viral load was estim ated by laser densitometry of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) products . The eight mothers-four with a previous history of abnormal smears an d two with previous genital warts-who transmitted infection to their i nfants had significantly higher viral loads (P < 0.05) than those who did not. It is concluded that viral load is an important, but not the sole, determinant for the transmission of HPV-16 from mother to infant . (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss. Inc.