New Delhi: Increasing instances of infertility in men have been a cause of serious concern of late, and lifestyle changes, relationship issues, environmental impacts, and stressful work culture are among the major reasons attributed to it. However, a recent study found that Human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted virus, can decrease the sperm quantity and quality in men leading to infertility. Researchers from Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in Argentina showed that men are very susceptible to HPV infections and have major problems such as the increased risk of genital warts and malignancies of the mouth, throat, genital organ, and anus.
But the top problem is being rendered infertile. The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology, showed that men infected with high-risk HPV genotypes show evidence of sperm death from oxidative stress and an impaired immune response The study "demonstrated that genital HPV infection is highly common in men and that, depending on the viral genotype that is causing the infection, the impact on sperm quality and semen inflammation might vary,” said Dr. Virginia Rivero, a professor at the varsity.
“Male fertility and the immune system's capacity to fight off infection seem to be more negatively impacted by high-risk HPV genotype infections,” Rivero added. HPV infections had been most common among women, leading to cervical cancer risk in 95 per cent of cases. However, a recent study i.