USE OF HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS TYPE-6 CAPSIDS TO DETECT ANTIBODIES IN PEOPLE WITH GENITAL WARTS

Human papillomavirus (HPV) type 6 capsids were produced by recombinant vaccinia viruses and used in a capture ELISA to screen 901 human sera from three studies of genital HPVs. The highest seroprevalence was ob served among subjects with recurrent genital warts. In a population-ba sed case-control study of genital warts, 26 (58%) of 45 women with rec urrent genital warts were seropositive compared with 19 (19%) of 101 c ontrol women with no history of genital warts (odds ratio, 6.5; 95% co nfidence interval, 3.0, 14.1). Among a cohort of pregnant women, 7 (88 %) of 8 with recurrent warts were seropositive compared with 24 (30%) of 79 pregnant women with no such history, A significant association b etween seropositivity to HPV-6 capsids and the detection of HPV-6/11 D NA from genital specimens by polymerase chain reaction was also observ ed. Men with genital warts were less likely to be seropositive than we re women with genital warts, and a positive association between the nu mber of sex partners and seropositivity was observed among only the fe male university students.