Genital human papillomavirus infections in the male sexual partners of 45 female patients with papillomavirus infection.

Forty-five women with a confirmed genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and their regular male sexual partners were examined. The diagnosis of the women was based on the colposcopic examination with cytological and histological samples. The men were studied by using a similar microscopic technique. Penisscopic and histological examinations showed that 22 out of the 45 men had genital HPV infection although only 7 men showed visible condylomatous warts. In addition, nine men had clinical lesions highly suggestive to HPV infection in penisscopy but they had unspecific histological samples. 23 of these 31 men were symptom-free. These results further emphasize the importance of regular examinations of the male sexual partners of women with genital HPV infection in order to prevent recurrences and spreading of the infection.