What is HPV (Human Papillomavirus)?
HPV is a virus that is believed to be transmitted by skin to skin or genital to genital contact during sexual activity. It commonly causes genital warts, although infection may occur completely out of view on the cervix, where it is not apparent and does not show any symptoms. There are some 150 named HPV types. Newer testing methods that detect the DNA sequence of viruses demonstrate that there is actually a lot more variation in viral types than this 150, with some suggesting that there are thousands of distinct viral types.
HPV is a common virus that affects both females and males. Most types of HPV are harmless, do not cause any symptoms, and go away on their own. About 30 types of HPV are know as genital HPV affecting the genital area. Some are high risk and can cause cervical cancer or abnormal cells in the lining of the cervix that sometimes turn into cancer. Others are low risk and can cause genital warts and changes in the cervix that are benign (abnormal but non cancerous).
