Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus that can affect fertility in men. A new study has found that HPV infection can cause low sperm quality and sperm count in men, which can reduce their chances of becoming fathers. Researchers at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in Argentina have concluded that HPV increases the risk of genital warts, mouth, throat and anal diseases in men. But the biggest concern is that this infection can also increase the risk of impotence in men.
This study has been published in a magazine called 'Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology'. It states that oxidative stress and impaired immune system can lead to poor sperm quality in men infected with high-risk HPV genotypes.
University professor Dr. Virginia Rivero says that "this research has found that HPV infection is very common in men and it can have a negative effect on the quality of their sperm." She further said that "this effect is more on men's fertility and their immune system, especially in cases where HPV genotypes are high risk."
HPV infection is considered to be the main cause of cervical cancer in women. In women, there is a risk of cervical cancer in 95% of cases due to this virus. But now it has become clear that this virus can also have a profound effect on the fertility of men.
According to another study published in 'The Lancet' magazine, 1 in 3 men over the age of 15 is at least partially infected with HPV. At the same time, 1 in 5 men may be infected with high-risk HPV strains. This new study researched 205 men from Argentina who visited a urology clinic between 2018 and 2021 for urinary tract infection problems. None of them had taken the HPV vaccine. As a result, 29% of the men were found to be HPV positive, of which 20% had high-risk HPV and 7% had low-risk HPV.
The study also looked at how HPV infection affected semen quality. According to general semen analysis, no significant difference was observed in the semen quality of the groups. However, when high-resolution tests were performed, it was found that men who were HR-HPV positive had significantly lower numbers of CD45+ white blood cells in their semen.
"Men infected with HR-HPV had a decline in sperm quality due to oxidative stress. Also, the immune system response in the urinary tract was weakened. This proves that the fertility of HR-HPV positive men can be completely affected," Dr. Rivero said.
The most effective way to avoid HPV is vaccination. Although, most men are not vaccinated against HPV yet, it is important to pay attention to this. Apart from this, the risk of this infection can also be reduced by healthy lifestyle, safe sex and regular medical checkups. HPV infection can cause serious problems for men, especially harming their fertility. Therefore, do not take it lightly and keep consulting a doctor from time to time. Only by increasing awareness about HPV and giving priority to vaccination can we protect ourselves from this dangerous virus.
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