A new study has indicated that the Human papillomavirus (HPV) could upset promising outcomes associated with In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). Human papillomavirus is associated with the growth of warts, spread by the environment or by mere skin-to-skin contact.

Researchers from New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center discovered that women who tested positive for HPV had only a 50% chance of conception through the IVF method, as compared to those who did not test positive for HPV. It is estimated that there exists atleast 100 varieties of HPV. Papillomaviruses belong to the broad range of DNA-based viruses that are known to spark an infection in the skin and mucous membranes of humans. Animals too are not spared by this virus.

Researchers indicate that there exists a distinct group, of about 30 HPVs, which spread by sexual contact. Genital HPV infection is not one of those rare infections, with findings that point towards a substantial 75% of women, who would have contracted the HPV infection during adulthood. Sexually transmitted HPVs of type 6 and 11 could also cause genital warts.