Ottawa, January 15: In a ground breaking study, Canadian scientists have found that more than half of young adults in a new sexual relationship get infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease that causes cervical cancer.
A team of researchers from McGill University’s Cancer Epidemiology Unit and University of Montreal carried out the study on a group of new couples, who have been together for six months or less.
They found that nearly 56 per cent of the couples were infected with HPV and about 44 per cent with an HPV type that causes cancer.
“These results build on our knowledge that HPV infection is very common among young adults, and underline the importance of prevention programmes for HPV-associated diseases such as cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination,” said Dr Ann Burchell, coordinator of the first-of-its kind “HPV Infection and Transmission in Couples through Heterosexual activity” study.
“Our results also suggest that HPV is an easy virus to get and to transmit. Our estimates of the HPV transmission probability will be of use to other researchers who use modelling to project the public health and economic impact of HPV vaccination strategies.”
The findings of the study, published in the latest issues of Epidemiology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases, also showed that there is a high probability of HPV transmission between partners.
When one partner had HPV, the research team led by Prof Eduardo Franco of McGill University observed that in 42 per cent of couples, the other partner also contracted the infection.
They also observed that the presence of HPV in one partner was the strongest predictor of finding the same HPV type in the other partner.
Although HPV viruses are very common more than 70 per cent of women and men will have this type of infection at some point the vast majority of infections are asymptomatic and last no more than one or two years. Fewer than one per cent of women who have HPV suffer from cervical cancer.
“Our study is the first to investigate HPV transmission in a large number of new couples among young adults,” said Dr Francois Coutlee, co-author of the study and researcher at the University of Montreal where the HPV tests were analysed.
“The results suggest that many HPV transmissions occur at the start of new relationships, which reinforces the need for prevention.”
—-Agencies