To investigate the subtype distributions and epidemiological characteristics of human papilloma virus (HPV) infection in Zhejiang Province and to provide evidence for early screening, prevention and diagnosis of male HPV infection.

A retrospective analysis of 4620 male swabs or tissue specimens of genital warts from 17 to 74 years old in Zhejiang Province during January 2014 to December 2016 was performed. Of the 4620 samples, 120 samples were out of the study because of insufficient cell volume, the remaining 4500 samples were divided into 6 groups according to the ages (268 in the 17 to 20-year-old group, 1958 in the 21 to 30-year-old group, 1156 in the 31 to 40-year-old group, 667 in the 41 to 50-year-old group, 355 in the 51 to 60-year-old group and 96 in the 60-year-old group). Twenty-three HPV genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and reverse dot hybridization, then we analyzed the HPV positive rate distribution, HPV positive rate difference and high and low risk HPV infection characteristics.

Of the 4500 samples, 2799 were positive for HPV with positive rate was 62.2%. Among them, type 6 and 11 HPV is the most prevalent, which account for 15.58% (436/2799) and 10.00% (280/2799) respectively. The most prevalent high-risk HPV type was type 52, accounting for 4.72% (132/2799). Of the 2799 HPV DNA-positive individuals, 1266 were single infections. Mixed infections occurred in 1533 cases, accounting for 44.26%. The highest single low-risk type was triple infection, the highest single high-risk type was quadruple infection, while the high-risk mixed infection reached seven, of which seven infections accounted for 2.25% (63/2799 cases).. The number of high-risk mixed infections was higher than that of high-risk and low-risk. Statistically significant difference was found between the two groups (χ²=28.1, and 82.8, respectively, P<0.05). HPV positive results were mainly found in young adults aged 21 to 40, accounting for 69.2% (3114/4500). The HPV positive rate was highest in the 17 to 20-year-old group (75.0%) and the 51 to 60-year-old group (79.7%). Compared with other age groups [21 to 30 years old (60.7%), 31 to 40 years old (59.1%), 41 In the 50-year-old (59.6%) and the >60-year-old (46.4%) groups, the χ² were 20.48, 22.51, 18.86, 26.02, and 46.03, 48.89, 40.99, and 41.84, respectively, P<0.05.

The male HPV infections in Zhejiang Province are mainly type 6 and 11. The main types of male HPV infection in Zhejiang Province are type 6 and 11 and are more common in young and middle-aged people. The proportion of mixed HPV infection is high, and high and low risk mixed infection are more common.