A Problem Affecting Millions

The genital human papillomavirus – HPV – is the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection.

Infection occurs when the HPV secretes into dermal tissue of the skin and the mucous membranes surrounding certain bodily cavities. More than 40 HPV are currently under classification, different types that infect the genitals of men and women – including the skin of the penis, vulva, anus, the vaginal linings, cervix, and rectum. Because you cannot see HPV most people that become infected do not even know they have it.

Those diagnosed with HPV, for the most part, do not develop overt physical symptoms or health problems. There are types of HPV that can cause genital warts in women and men while other HPV types cause cervical cancer and less common cancers of the anus, vulva, vagina, and penis. The types of HPV which cause genital warts are not the same as the those which cause cancer.

HPV Types: Cancerous & Benign

The HPV types that are referred to as low risk – such as those that cause warts – or high risk – those that cause cancer – are based on whether the HPV strain will put a person at risk for cancer. In more than 90 percent of HPV cases the immune system removes the infection naturally within the course of two years – in both high risk and low risk types of HPV.

In the incidence of genital warts, they tend to appear as small bumps or even as clusters of bumps, usually grouped together in the genital area. The genital warts may appear to be raised or flat, small or large, single or multiple and cauliflower shaped. Genital warts may appear on the vulva, inside or surrounding the vagina and anus, the cervix, and scrotum, penis, thigh or groin. Genital warts can appear from weeks to months after the initial sexual contact with someone that has been infected with HPV – in some cases they may not appear at all. Left untreated genital warts can go away. However, they may also stay – even increase in number, actually doubling though they will never become cancerous.

Genital HPV is most commonly passed from an infected person to a non-infected person through genital contact during vaginal or anal sex. The infected person can carry HPV regardless of how many years have passed since the sexual encounter in which the HPV was transmitted. In most cases, those people that are infected do not realize they have been infected or that they are sharing HPV with a sex partner.

In rare occasions a pregnant woman that has contracted genital HPV will pass HPV to her child during a vaginal delivery. It is in these cases that the child will develop warts in the throat and voice box which is known as recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.