Urethral Swab use in Diagnossis of Human Papilloma Virus Infection among Men Seeking Routine Evaluation

More than 100 human papillomavirus (HPV) types have been identified of which at least 42 are associated with infections of the genital tract [1]. HPV infection is commonly occurring as a sexually transmitted infection in Romania [2]. HPV infection with oncogenic high-risk types may be find in all cases of cancers in the anogenital tract in humans, for example cervical, penile and anal cancers. On the other hand, infection with low-risk HPV types is associated with anogenital warts or lessions present in men and women as well. Several epidemiologic studies of genital HPV infection in women have been conducted lately [3,4], but data on HPV prevalence and type distribution among men are lacking [5,6]. In women, the Papanicolaou (Pap) test is used for the detection of possible lesions of the cervix and for cervical cancer screening and management [7]. In contrast, there is no current approved test to detect HPV in men and the prevalence of male HPV infection is understudied [8].