What are the symptoms of HPV?
HPV usually has no symptoms, unless it is a type that causes genital warts. Genital warts may occur within weeks or months after contact with a partner who has HPV. More rarely, genital warts may occur years after exposure. Most people will never know if they have HPV because no significant disease develops and the immune system suppresses the virus. A small percent of people with HPV will have the virus for a longer time and will develop cell changes that may lead over many years to cervical or other anogenital cancer.
Genital HPV usually has no symptoms, unless it is a type that causes genital warts. Genital warts may appear within weeks or months after contact with a partner who has HPV. More rarely, genital warts may show up years after exposure. Most people will never know they have HPV because they have no symptoms and the body’s immune system causes the virus to become inactive. A small number of people with HPV will have the virus for a longer time. These people can develop cell changes that over many years may lead to cervical or other genital or anal cancers.
Often, there aren’t any symptoms at all. Lots of people have HPV without even knowing it. There are many different types of HPV. Some affect the skin of the body, leading to warts on the feet or hands, and others affect the genitals. Some of these types of HPV cause genital warts, and others can cause changes in the cells of the cervix, leading to abnormal cells and cervical cancer.
