Human Papilloma Virus (HPV)
What is Human Papilloma Virus?
Human Papilloma Virus, or HPV is a very common sexually transmitted infection. In fact, nearly 80% of the sexually active population will acquire HPV at some point in their lives. The majority of those infections (about 90 percent) will go away on their own, without causing problems, within a year or two.
There are over 100 types of HPV, and more than 30 of those are sexually transmitted by vaginal, oral, or anal intercourse. There are "low risk" types of HPV, which are linked to genital warts, and “high risk” types of HPV, which may cause abnormal pap smears and are linked to cervical cancer.
Will I get cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer takes at least 10 years to develop. Pap smears are screening tests for cervical changes that occur. Because cervical changes occur slowly and often do resolve, many abnormalities on the pap smear are observed closely without intervention.
How do I get HPV?
HPV or Genital warts are transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, or by vaginal, oral, or anal sex with an infected partner.
What are the symptoms of genital HPV?
Most people who are infected with HPV do not know it because symptoms never appear. When symptoms do appear, they are soft, moist, pink or flesh-colored swellings or warts in the genital area. They can appear on the vulva, in the vagina, on the cervix or penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh.
Symptoms may appear within weeks or months, or not at all. Most people infected with HPV are unaware of it, but may still transmit the virus to sexual partners.
How is HPV diagnosed and treated?
Genital warts are diagnosed through visual inspection by your Medical Provider.
A Pap test can detect "high risk" HPV types in women. There are currently no HPV tests available for men.
How is HPV diagnosed and treated?
Genital warts: Genital warts are diagnosed through visual inspection by your Medical Provider. If desired, warts can be treated with medications that you apply or by your Medical Provider.
Cervical HPV: The pap smear sometimes can detect changes on the cervix caused by HPV. In certain cases a second test is used to identify high risk subtypes. Most of the time, this information is not necessary for follow-up. Ninety percent of cervical HPV infections become undetectable within two years. Those with persistent “high risk” infection are followed more closely.
How do I prevent HPV?
Nearly eighty percent of sexually active people will be infected with HPV at some point during their life. Correct and consistent use of condoms can reduce the risk of getting HPV or Genital warts, though a condom may not cover all infected areas. HPV infection of the cervix can be decreased by up to seventy percent with consistent condom use. Every new partner brings the risk of new or different types of HPV infection. You are at risk both by the number of sexual partners you have and those that your partner has had.
There is an HPV vaccine available called Gardasil, that protects girls and women from four HPV types: Types 6 and 11 which account for 90% of genital warts (low-risk HPV), and types 16 and 18 which account for 70% of the cases of cervical cancer (high-risk HPV). The vaccine is recommended for girls and women ages 9-26 and is given in a three dose series over six months. Gardasil is available through Health Services. The cost is $145 per injection and is often covered by Health Insurance.
Vaccinated women still need to continue with pap tests because the vaccine does not protect against all HPV types that cause cervical cancer.
