Human papillomavirus (HPV) has found a new hiding spot: under the fingernails of young men.

A study conducted by UW epidemiologist Laura Koutsky, who led some research for an HPV vaccine, found the virus under men's nails and questions beliefs that HPV can only be transmitted through intercourse.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Web site describes genital HPV infection as "a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by HPV, which is the name of a group of viruses (of) more than 100 different strains or types. HPV is a virus that lives in the skin, rather than in your body."

"[In our lab,] we do HPV studies in young men and women. In some women without sexual experiences we found indicators of HPV," Koutsky said. "(However), they reported contact with the digits of their male partners."

The CDC reports more than 30 strains of HPV are sexually transmitted.

"[Those strains] can infect the genital area of men and women including the skin of the penis, vulva or anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix or rectum," according to the Web site. "Most people who become infected with HPV will not have any symptoms and will clear the infection on their own. There is no clear health benefit to knowing you have the virus, since it is unlikely to affect your health and can't be treated."

Koutsky noted the HPV strand was found on the line between the finger and the nail, not under the nail.

"Right now, we don't know if it's infectious or not," she said.

According to smartersex.org, a sexual health Web site for college students, most HPV infections in women are asymptomatic and can only be picked up by a Pap test of the cervix.

Koustky said no link has been proven between a weaker immune system and HPV being found under the tips of fingernails.

"The young men we look[ed] at are precisely healthy, [so we can] understand how the virus functions in healthy people," she said. "There are other [researchers] also looking at immuno-suppressed patients — people who have an inhibited immune system, such as those with AIDS. To my knowledge, they have not researched HPV under the tips of the fingernails."

The CDC Web site notes there is an HPV test for women, which can be used as part of cervical cancer screening and management, but it is neither a general check for HPV nor designed for men.

"There is no general test for HPV that can tell a man or woman his or her 'HPV status,'" according to the Web site.

Women appear more prone to become infected with HPV, although more research is being done on men.

"HPV is a big problem related to cervical cancer in women," Koutsky said. "Clinical trials were done [on women] to see if the infection and cancerous lesions, which occur as a result of HPV, could be prevented. The results indicated that's possible. There's also tests being done on men to see if infection and warts can be prevented. The results should be coming out in 2008."

According to the CDC Web site, it is not known if the vaccine is effective in boys or men.

"It's possible that vaccinating males will have health benefits for them by preventing genital warts and rare cancers, such as penile and anal cancer," the CDC Web site notes. "It's also possible that vaccinating boys/men will have indirect health benefits for girls/women. Studies are now being done to find out if the vaccine works to prevent HPV infection and disease in males. When more information is available, this vaccine may be licensed and recommended for boys/men as well."

Koutsky said other studies exist that support her recent findings.

"There was a study in Europe that looked at partners of women with cervical lesions," she said. "[Our findings] have been accepted for publication and should be appearing in a journal this August as part of a larger study."