Human papillomavirus infection among male clients of female sex workers soliciting sex in brothels in Peru

Abstract

The prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) has been reported to be three times higher in female sex workers (FSWs) in Callao, Peru than in the general population of women in Peru. Prevalence of HR-HPV among male clients has not yet been reported. A total of 150 men soliciting intercourse in sex work venues submitted questionnaires, samples for sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, and self-collected penile samples prior to and following intercourse for HPV genotyping. We identified variables associated with pre-coital HR-HPV, and compared HR-HPV detection pre- and post-coitus. Prior to intercourse, HR-HPV prevalence was 41.9%. Married clients were less likely than unmarried clients to have HR-HPV detected ( p = 0.03). While post-coital HR-HPV prevalence was higher (47.6%), the difference was not statistically significant. However, there was a significant increase in the mean number of HR-HPV DNA strains detected before (0.75) and after (0.94) intercourse ( p = 0.02). No cases of gonorrhoea or syphilis and six (4.1%) cases of chlamydial infection were detected. Despite low prevalence of other STIs, male clients had a high HR-HPV prevalence. The increase in detection of HR-HPV following intercourse demonstrates a potential for transmission of HR-HPV despite high self-reported condom use.

“Self-testing sounds more private, rather than going to the clinic and everybody will find out”: Facilitators and barriers regarding HIV testing among men who purchase sex in Bali, Indonesia

“…In addition to possible HIV exposure due to condom-less sex with female sex workers, other factors that might place men who purchase sex at an increased risk of HIV include having multiple sexual partners [5–9], sexual contact with men [10, 11], a high rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that could increase HIV transmission [5–9, 12, 13], and injecting drug use [14–16]. Although some studies have reported a low HIV prevalence (0–0.5%) among men who purchase sex [17, 18], other studies have reported a high HIV prevalence, ranging from 5.7% to 26.5% [5, 9, 14, 19–22].…”