Genital tract papillomavirus type 6 in recurrent conjunctival papilloma
Z. Naghashfar, P. J. McDonnell, J. M. McDonnell, W. R. Green and K. V. Shah
An infant boy born of a mother who had condylomata (genital warts) during
pregnancy and at delivery developed recurrent conjunctival papillomas and
papillomas on the soft palate and the false vocal cords. A conjunctival
lesion was first noticed by the mother when the infant was 4 months old and
was excised and histologically diagnosed as a papilloma when he was 11
months old. The DNA sequences of genital tract human papillomavirus type 6
(HPV-6) were identified in conjunctival papilloma tissue by Southern
transfer hybridization of tissue DNA extracted from a lesion excised at 29
months of age as well as by in situ hybridization of paraffin sections of
the diagnostic biopsy specimen obtained at 11 months of age. It is probable
that the infant acquired conjunctival infection from the mother, very
likely during passage through the infected birth canal.
