Prevalence of human papillomavirus in semen and semen parameter abnormalities of men presenting with infertility at the University Teaching Hospital,Lusaka,Zambia

Background: The Human Papillomavirus (HPV) has been recently demonstrated to have a negative influence on sperm parameters, fertilization process and abortion rate. Several studies have identified HPV in human semen, mainly from men recruited at fertility or maternity clinics and also in semen from sperm donors with a prevalence ranging from 1–82%. Studies suggest that HPV induces abnormalities such as alteration of sperm motility and thus may play a major role in cases of idiopathic asthenozoospermia and male infertility. The prevalence of HPV in semen and semen abnormalities at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) is not known and hence the goal of this study is to generate baseline data with a view to promoting further research on the effects of HPV infection on male fertility and the possibility of female HPV infection through semen.
Aim: The study was aimed at determining the prevalence of HPV in semen and semen parameter abnormalities of men presenting with infertility at the UTH.
Methods: This was a cross section study involving 78 semen samples from males seeking fertility medical assistance. The samples were obtained by masturbation after 3 days of sexual abstinence. After liquefaction at room temperature, volume, pH, sperm concentration, vitality, motility, and normal morphology were determined following World Health Organization Guidelines for semen analysis. DNA extraction was done following the protocol on isolation of Viral DNA by the manufacturer of the kit (ZR Viral DNA Kit) ZYMO RESEARCH. The presence of HPV infection was detected by PCR amplification of the extracted DNA with HPV specific primers (MY09/MY11). These primers target the conserved region of the L1 capsid genes.
Results and Discussion: The prevalence of HPV in semen was found to be 4%. Five abnormalities were demonstrated in our study; asthenozoospermia was observed in 49% (38/78) of the samples followed by teratozoospermia with 28% (22/78). Oligozoospermia was 12% (9/78) and 6% (5/78) of the samples presented with necrozoospermia. Lastly, 3% (2/78) of the samples presented with azoospermia. The presence of HPV in semen may suggest its involvement in inducing semen parameter abnormalities.
Conclusion: The prevalence of HPV is 4% in this study. The most prevalent semen abnormality was found to be asthenozoospermia (49%) whilst the least prevalent was azoospermia (3%). The presence of HPV in semen, its possible role in causing semen abnormalities and its sexual transmission needs further investigation.
Key words: human papillomavirus, Zambia, semen, university teaching hospital