Virus may hamper in vitro treatment

The same genital wart virus that causes cervical cancer may also reduce a woman’s chances of becoming pregnant at a fertility clinic.

Only 23% of women infected with human papillomavirus, or HPV, became pregnant during in vitro fertilization, or IVF, treatments, compared with 57% of uninfected women, researchers reported last week in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

“Sexually transmitted diseases are a major cause of infertility. However, possible links between HPV infection and infertility have not been systematically investigated,” they wrote.

“Unfortunately, the virus is very common among people of reproductive age. Testing for HPV might become a useful addition to the screening tests done for IVF patients and could help physicians to advise them,” said Dr. Joseph Sanfilippo, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which publishes the journal, in a statement.

The researchers did not look at the link between fertility in general and HPV.