What is HPV?
The human papilloma (pronounced “pap-ah-LO-mah”) virus, also called HPV, is a common virus that infects the skin and mucous membranes. There are more than 100 types of HPV. Click here to view a magnified, color-enhanced picture of an HPV virus particle. The types of HPV that cause common warts, such as those found on the hands and feet, are spread through skin-to-skin contact. In addition, it is also possible to get these common types of warts after sharing towels or other objects with a person who has warts. About 30 types of HPV are spread only through direct genital contact. These “genital” types of HPV are either: 1) “high-risk” – which means they can cause certain kinds of cancer (most commonly, cervical cancer) if the infection persists, or 2) “low-risk” – which means they are not associated with cancer, but can cause genital warts. Unless you develop one of these problems, the only way to know whether you have HPV is by being tested. Learn more about the different types of the H
HPV (human papillomavirus) is a virus that is common in the United States and around the world and can cause cancer and genital warts. HPV is spread through sexual contact. There are about 40 types of genital HPV. HPV is the major cause cervical cancer in women and is also associated with several other types of cancer in both men and women.
Human papilloma virus (HPV) is an STD that causes genital warts. It also is the cause of more than 90 percent of all cervical cancer. Cervical cancer takes the lives of about 5,000 American women yearly, and condoms provide almost no protection against HPV. It is estimated 5.5 million new infections occur each year with at least 20 million people currently infected. Source: National Institutes of Health. (April 1-3, 1996). Cervical Cancer: NIH Consensus Development Statement, Online, 43(1), 1-30. Source: American Social Health Association. (1998, December) Sexually Transmitted Disease in America: How Many Cases and at What Cost? Menlo Park, Calif.: Kaiser Family Foundation. Sexual Transmission of HIV and other STDs. CDC Update, 2.
HPV is short for human papilloma virus (pap-uh-LO-muh). HPVs are a group of over 100 related viruses. Each HPV virus in the group is given a number, which is called an HPV type. HPVs are called papilloma viruses because some of the HPV types cause warts or papillomas, which are non-cancerous tumors. The papilloma viruses are attracted to and are able to live only in squamous epithelial cells in the body. Squamous epithelial cells are thin, flat cells that are found on the surface of the skin, cervix, vagina, anus, vulva, head of the penis, mouth, and throat. HPVs will not grow in other parts of the body. Of the more than 100 strains of HPV, about 60 HPV types cause warts on non-genital skin, such as on the hands and feet. These are the common warts. The other 40 HPV types are mucosal types of HPV. “Mucosal” refers to the body’s mucous membranes, or the moist skin-like layers that line organs and cavities of the body that open to the outside. For example, the vagina and anus have a mois
