STD facts:insight on Human Papilloma Virus(HPV)

What is HPV?
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, it is a different virus from HIV and Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV). It is so common that nearly all sexually active persons get the infection at some point in their lives.

Types of HPV?
HPV is not just one virus, there are more than 100 kinds and some have more risk than the others. There are several types and each type has its own number, some can cause genital warts which is what the term "papilloma" refers to, some can cause cervical carcinoma, anal carcinoma and penile carcinoma. HPV lives in the epithelial cells found on the skin surface, vaginal surface, vulva, cervix, anus and glans penis (head of the penis), inside the mouth and throat. About 60 of the 100 HPV types cause warts on hands and feet region while the remaining40 get into the body during sexual intercourse and are drawn to the body's mucus membrane.
High-risk, Low-risk
High-risk HPV strains include HPV16 and 18, which cause about 70% of cervical carcinoma, the low-risk strains like HPV 6 and 11 cause 90%of genital warts which rarely develop into cancer. The growth can look like bumps sometimes look like caul flowers. Warts show up weeks or months after sex with infected person.



Transmission
Can be gotten from toilet seat, swimming pool, blood of infected 3, sex (even using condoms does not fully protect one), skin-skin contact.
Signs and symptoms
Infection is self limiting (body clears it on its own) in a few years. But an infection with high-risk type of HPV will last longer and can cause changes in the cervical cells leading to cancer, also abnormal changes in the cells of the penis and anus but this is rare.

Prevention
To lowe the risk of getting HPV one can limit the number of sex partners or partners who had no or few partners before you.

Vaccination
Three vaccines cervarix, Gardasil and Gardasil 9 protect against HPV.