Research Article High HPV Infection Prevalence in Men from Infertile Couples and Lack of Relationship between Seminal HPV Infection and Sperm Quality Barbara Golob, 1 Mario Poljak, 2 Ivan Verdenik, 1 Mojca Kolbezen Simoniti, 1 Eda VrtaInik Bokal, 1 and Branko Zorn 1 1 Reproductive Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, ˇ Slajmerjeva 3, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia 2 Institute of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Zaloˇ ska 4, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia Correspondence should be addressed to Branko Zorn; branko.zorn@kclj.si Received 10 January 2014; Revised 12 March 2014; Accepted 14 March 2014; Published 6 April 2014 Academic Editor: Irma Virant-Klun Copyright © 2014 Barbara Golob et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most frequently sexually transmitted viruses and etiological agents of several human cancers. Controversial results of the role of HPV in infertile population on sperm parameters have been published. Te aim of this study was to estimate the type-specifc prevalence of HPV DNA infection of the external genitalia and semen in 340 Slovenian men from infertile couples and to establish the relationship between seminal HPV DNA infection and abnormal sperm parameters. Self-taken swabs of the entire penile surface and semen samples were collected, and HPV detection and genotyping were performed. HPV DNA was detected in 37.12% of external genitalia and in 13.61% of semen samples with high HPV type concordance of both sampling sites. Te most prevalent HPV types in the male external genitalia were HPV-CP6108 and HPV-84. Te most prevalent HPV types in semen were HPV-53 and HPV-CP6108. Te prevalence of HPV infection between normozoospermic men and men with abnormal sperm parameters did not difer signifcantly. Sperm quality did not difer signifcantly between men with seminal HPV infection and uninfected men. In conclusion, the men from infertile couples are equally susceptible to HPV infection regardless of their fertile potential; seminal HPV infection does not impair sperm quality. 1. Introduction Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are the most common sexually transmitted viruses. More than three quarters of the sexually active human population will acquire an HPV infec- tion during their lifetime, although most of the infections are self-limited [1]. Persistent HPV infection is a necessary cause of several human cancers, mainly in the anogenital area [2]. By February 2014, more than 179 HPV types have been ofcially recognized, and about 40 diferent HPV types from the clinically most important HPV genus (alpha) afect the anogenital region of both genders [3]. HPV can be detected in every part of the male repro- ductive tract [4–6]. Since the early reports of seminal HPV infection in the middle eighties, the role of HPV infection in infertility has been debated [7]. World Health Organization (WHO) defnes infertility as an inability of a sexually active, noncontraceptive couple to achieve spontaneous pregnancy in one year [8]. Approximately 15–20% of couples in repro- ductive period encounter infertility problems. Many factors afect the fertility potential and they are equally distributed between genders: in 1/3 of infertile couples, a male infer- tility associated factor is found, in 1/3 a female associated factor is found, and in 1/3 both female and male infertility associated factors are found present [9]. Maldescended testis, varicocele, and infammation are among the most common diagnoses of male infertility and represent one of the three most frequent causes of male infertility [10]. In spite of highly improved diagnostic procedures, about 10% of couples remain diagnosed with idiopathic infertility that does not provide a cause for their defect [8]. A connection between asthenozoospermia and HPV DNA sperm infection has been Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2014, Article ID 956901, 9 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/956901