Abstract

BACKGROUND AND METHODS--We have carried out a prospective study of dual genitotropic human papillomavirus (HPV) infections by means of two different DNA detection methods in biopsy specimens obtained from patients who were examined for genital warts at the STD clinic of the School of Medicine in Seville, between January 1990 and December 1991. RESULTS--100 patients with a clinical diagnosis of condilomata acuminata were seen during the study period. DNA of the genitotropic HPV 6/11, 16/18 and 31/33/35 was detected by an in situ hybridisation method in 75 (77%) of the 98 evaluable samples; one of the genotypes tested in 59 (61%) samples, and two or more genotypes tested in the remaining 16 (15%) samples. In 21 (98%) of the 23 negative samples by in situ hybridisation, we were able to detect DNA of genital HPV using a polymerase chain reaction amplification method (PCR). Among the 34 samples where PCR was applied we confirmed the presence of two different HPV genotypes in eight samples. CONCLUSIONS--The frequency of dual infections with human genitotropic papillomavirus in genital warts was 8%, although we believe that this rate should be higher as we have not used the PCR method in all of the samples.