Human papillomavirus genotypes present in the oral mucosa of newborns and their concordance with maternal cervical human papillomavirus genotypes.

OBJECTIVES: To elucidate the concordance of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotypes between the mother and her newborn and to identify risk factors for the vertical transmission of HPV.

STUDY DESIGN: HPV genotypes present in 329 pregnant women, their newborns, cord blood, and placenta samples were determined by molecular techniques, including using pure DNA for nested polymerase chain reaction. HPV antibodies were tested using multiplex HPV serology. Kappa statistics and the Wilcoxon test were used to assess concordance, and regression analysis was used to calculate ORs and 95% CIs.

RESULTS: HPV DNA was detected in 17.9% of oral samples from newborns and in 16.4% of the cervical samples of the mothers. At delivery, mother-newborn pairs had similar HPV-genotype profiles, but this concordance disappeared in 2 months. Oral HPV carriage in newborns was most significantly associated with the detection of HPV in the placenta (OR=14.0; 95% CI, 3.7-52.2; P=.0001). The association between status of the cord blood and oral HPV was also significant at delivery (OR=4.7; 95% CI, 1.4-15.9; P=.015) but disappeared within 1 month. HPV antibodies in infants were of maternal origin (OR=68; 95% CI, 20.1-230.9; P=.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: HPV is prevalent in oral samples from newborns. The genotype profile of newborns was more restricted than that of the maternal cervical samples. The close maternal-newborn concordance could indicate that an infected mother transmits HPV to her newborn via the placenta or cord blood.