A new study in the Journal of Infectious Diseases shows that nearly 100% of HIV-positive men who have sex with men are anally infected with human papillomavirus, which is linked with anal and genital warts and anal and penile cancers. Worse yet, very few of these HIVers are able to clear the virus from their bodies, as many HIV-negative adults are able to do, Canadian researchers report.

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A study of 247 HIV-positive gay and bisexual men showed that 98% were chronically infected with HPV, and the majority carried a strain of the virus linked with increased risk for anal cancer. Most of the men carried multiple strains of the sexually transmitted virus.

The HPV infection rate was more than three times higher than that seen among HIV-negative men who have sex with men. Long-term follow-up of the study subjects also showed that only 13% were able to clear HPV infection, a rate far lower than HIV-negative men and women infected with HPV.