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Hand-genital transmission of genital warts? An analysis of prevalence data

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 May 2009

C. K. Fairley*
Affiliation:
The Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia Immunisation Division, Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ Department of Microbiology, The Royal Women's Hospital, 132 Grattan Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
N. J. Gay
Affiliation:
Immunisation Division, Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, 61 Colindale Avenue, London NW9 5EQ
A. Forbes
Affiliation:
The Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia
M. Abramson
Affiliation:
The Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Alfred Hospital, Commercial Road, Prahran, Victoria 3181, Australia
S. M. Garland
Affiliation:
Department of Microbiology, The Royal Women's Hospital, 132 Grattan Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
*
* To whose correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed.
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Summary

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The role of hand-genital transmission in the aetiology of genital warts is unclear. However this route is suggested by a number of observations including the relatively high proportion of genital warts in children which contain HPV types 1–4 (15% for children and 2% for adults). We compared two transmission models; one which assumes that hand-genital transmission occurs and one that it does not, and determined the conditions in which each model can reflect the available prevalence data. Hand-genital transmission provides a simple explanation of the observed differences in the proportions of genital warts containing HPV types 1–4 and 6/11 in children and adults. If hand-genital transmission does not occur, the observed difference could only be explained by an eightfold greater probability of transmission to children of types 1–4 than types 6/11, or by an eightfold greater duration of infection with types 1–4. Our findings provide support for the view that genital warts may be transmitted by hand-genital contact.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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