[ad_1]
THURSDAY, February 11, 2021 (HealthDay News) – The cancer-causing human papillomavirus (HPV) is considered a sexually transmitted infection, but a new study shows that many babies are born with the virus in their mouths.
“In short, HPV infection can be acquired at an early age or even at birth,” said Dr Stina Syrjanen, senior researcher, responsible for oral pathology and oral radiology at the Institute of Medicine. dental clinic at the University of Turku in Finland. “These infections are asymptomatic and, in most cases, invisible” in the mucous membranes of the mouth.
Worse, the HPV infection will persist for months or years in a significant portion of these newborns, increasing their long-term risk of developing cancer or other health problems, experts said.
Researchers found that 23% of 331 children born in Finland had oral HPV infection at birth, likely acquired by their mother, according to a study to appear in the March issue of the journal. Emerging infectious diseases.
Researchers also found persistent HPV infection in about 15% of the children over the six years of follow-up, noted Dr. Sean O’Leary, vice chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Infectious Diseases ( AAP).
This could pose a long-term risk to their health, although the extent of that risk is unknown at this time, O’Leary said.
“These young children, certainly 15% of them, will not develop cancer from their HPV,” O’Leary said. “Some of them will clarify it. But we don’t really know who will and who won’t.”
The most likely route of infection is through the birth canal during childbirth, but Syrjanen noted that all possible routes are “not yet fully established”.
“Our study provides evidence that a mother carrying HPV in her mouth could transmit her offspring at an early age – that is, mouth-to-mouth transmission,” Syrjanen said. “Another possibility is transmission during childbirth from the maternal genital area to the newborn, a route that is supported by several studies.”
It is also possible that HPV could be acquired during pregnancy, with the infection passing from mother to child in utero, Syrjanen added.
The new study provides another powerful argument for HPV vaccination, O’Leary said.
At least 80% of American adults have had an HPV infection at some point, O’Leary said. Virtually all cancers of the cervix are caused by an HPV infection, as are most cancers of the mouth, anus, and penis, according to the US National Cancer Institute.
There is no antiviral treatment for HPV, and vaccination cannot prevent future infection of a strain of HPV that a person has previously been exposed to, O’Leary said.
Children infected at birth have to rely on their own immune systems to fight HPV and will not be able to gain vaccine immunity to the strain they caught, O’Leary said.
“The most common variant of HPV they reported was HPV-16, which is the # 1 cause of HPV-associated cancers,” O’Leary said. “This is one of those covered by the vaccine.”
The AAP recommends that children receive the vaccine between the ages of 9 and 12, O’Leary said.
“The sooner the better, frankly, because you get a better immune response,” O’Leary said.
A mother vaccinated against HPV cannot pass the virus to her baby and will also provide her with innate immunity, Syrjanen said.
“There is some evidence that the mother can transfer her anti-HPV antibodies to the newborn, which may protect her against long-lasting infections,” said Syrjanen. “Infants born to mothers vaccinated against HPV have higher levels of anti-HPV antibodies, which allows passive immunization against HPV.”
More information
The US National Cancer Institute has more on HPV.
SOURCES: Stina Syrjanen, DDS, PhD, chief, oral pathology and oral radiology, Institute of Dentistry, University of Turku, Finland; Sean O’Leary, MD, infectious disease specialist, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora; Emerging infectious diseases, March 2021
Source link
