Asymptomatic genital infection of human papillomavirus in pregnant women and the vertical transmission route.

To further investigate the vertical transmission route of human papillomavirus (HPV) and the indication for the choice of mode of delivery, the infective status of 152 asymptomatic pregnant wemen and the maternal-fetal transmission were studied. By using general primers in polymerase chain reaction (GP-PCR) combined with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, HPV DNA positive rate in cervical secretions and venous blood in asymptomatic pregnant women was 36.21% and 52.78%, respectively, and the identified genotypes were mainly HPV16 and 18. The maternal-fetal transmission rate of HPV via genital tract as well as blood was 40.91% and 57. 89%, respectively. It was concluded that besides the transmission route of genital tract and amniotic fluid, there was also transplacental transmission of HPV in utero. Therefore,in our opinion, it is not an absolut indication to perform a cesarean delivery for the pregnant women with HPV asymtomatic genital infection.