With so much controversy over mandatory vaccinations for young girls, and so much fear about the growing problem of cervical cancer, many women today are wondering “What is HPV?” Although it is the most common sexually-transmitted disease in the U.S. (researchers estimate that more than half of all women are exposed to it before the age of 50) and has been around since the beginning of time, HPV has somehow managed to remain anonymous in the family of sexually-transmitted infections.
The goal of this article is to remove the veil of mystery from human papillomavirus (HPV) by presenting recent clinical data on the virus, identifying common symptoms of HPV in women, and providing information on how to protect against infection. It is through this type of education that we hope to stem the spread of HPV and prevent new cases of cervical cancer.
What is HPV Virus?
Human papillomavirus, or HPV, is a virus that is transferred from the mucous membranes and skin of one person to another during sexual contact. Like many other viruses, it embeds itself deep in the skin and can lay dormant for long periods of time without causing any physical symptoms. This unfortunate trait of the disease causes the vast majority of infected people to be unaware of their condition, and enables it to be more-easily spread to new hosts.
The virus itself appears in an amazing variety of forms (as of 2011, researchers had identified more than 100 different strains), but only 40 or so are classified as being sexually transmittable. Among this group, HPV 16 and 18 are particularly notable due to their known links with cervical cancer.
Symptoms of HPV Infection
The most common, visible HPV symptoms in women are genital warts, and occasionally warts in the mouth or throat. These warts can sometimes be difficult to identify because they can appear in strikingly different manners, ranging from flattened, cauliflower-like growths to raised bumps. They can also vary quite a bit in color, sometimes appearing pink and other times as darker variations of the woman’s normal skin tone. It would also be inaccurate to suggest that these visible signs of infection are common.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that of the approximately six million estimated new HPV infections every year, only a small fraction of them are ever diagnosed. This is not surprising when one considers that more than 90% of HPV infections clear themselves in two years or less, and many of them never exhibit any symptoms. It is the remaining 10% of cases however, and particularly those that never display outward signs of infection, that give women cause for concern.
HPV and Cervical Cancer
Of the approximately 40 recognized forms of sexually-transmitted HPV, nearly two-thirds of them can cause genital warts. The good news for women who have these warts is that they do not come from the strains of the virus that lead to cervical cancer. As unattractive and embarrassing as they may be, the warts are basically harmless.
As for the 13 types of sexually-transmitted HPV that do not cause warts, the potential health risks are significantly higher. Referred to as “high-risk” strains of the virus, these infections never display overt symptoms and can only be detected through either a Pap test or specific HPV test. Recent research suggests that as many as 99% of new cervical cancer cases reported each year are the result of one of these strains of HPV.
HPV Prevention
While insisting on your partner’s use of a condom can definitely reduce the risk of contracting HPV, it is far from a perfect form of protection. Because any skin-on-skin contact can lead to transmission of the virus, covering the genitals alone is often ineffective. For this reason, preventative HPV vaccines like Gardisil and Cervarix are now being administered to girls as young as 12 years of age.
If you have already contracted HPV, vaccination will not cure you of the virus. It can, however, prevent you from acquiring any other forms to which you have not been exposed (HPV 16 and 18, in particular). Getting your regularly-scheduled Pap test and a HPV test are also crucial steps that will allow you to identify any potential issues early enough to treat them.
One Final Answer to “What is HPV?”
As was mentioned in a preceding section, roughly nine out of every 10 cases of HPV infection are eradicated by your body’s natural defenses in two years or less. If you learn that you are infected with the virus, it is most likely not cause for alarm. You should, however, be sure to undergo regular examinations to be sure that there are no unusual changes to the cervix taking place.
So, to answer the original question posed by this article once and for all, “What is HPV?” It’s just another virus that you need to protect yourself against if you’re sexually active, but it probably isn’t anything you need to lose sleep over.