Cutaneotropic Human β-/γ-Papillomaviruses Are Rarely Shared between Family Members

Several cutaneotropic human papillomavirus (HPV) types seem to be involved in the early onset of cutaneous squamous-cell carcinoma. To test the hypothesis that cutaneotropic HPV infections are facilitated because of close and frequent skin contact (for example, between child and mother), we examined HPV prevalence in hair follicle cells from 134 volunteers (1–89 years of age, median 42 years) from 13 families. We used a high-throughput HPV-typing approach with a sensitive β-/γ-cutaneous PCR method, followed by reverse line blotting, to detect 30 cutaneotropic HPV types. HPV prevalence in all individuals was 42% and increased with age from 5% at ≤20 years to 27% at 21–40 years, 53% at 41–60 years, and 76% at >60 years. The effect of life age was significant, independent of couples and family members shown by regression analyses (P≤10-8). A higher similarity of HPV infection patterns was observed in couples versus two randomly chosen individuals (P≤0.05). However, the same specific HPV type was rarely found within couples or between children and their parents. Cutaneotropic HPV types are occasionally exchanged between family members during the entire lifetime, but other donors should also be considered in viral transmission.