SHREWSBURY OBSTETRICS & GYNECOLOGY, PC
HPV (Human Papilloma Virus)
Frequently Asked Questions

What is HPV?
Human Papillomavirus, HPV, is a virus that is very common. In fact, most men and women are infected with HPV at some time in their lives. There are approximately 100 types of HPV. Some HPV types typically infect the genital area and may cause warts, some cause mild changes in cervical cells that do not turn into cancer, and some cause changes that may become cervical cancer if present for years. The types of HPV that are found in the genital areas are usually passed on during sexual contact. HPV types that cause warts on the hands and feet do not cause genital warts or cervical cell changes, nor do genital HPV types generally spread outside the genital area.
How common is HPV?
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus. It has been estimated that 75% or more of sexually active Americans will contract HPV sometime in their lives. This means that anyone who has had sexual relations has a high chance of being exposed to the virus, but only a small number of women infected with HPV develop cell changes that need to be treated. In most cases, the immune system will keep the virus under control or get rid of it completely. However, if HPV infection does not go away over many years, there is a greater chance of developing cell changes that may lead to cervical cancer. Only very rarely does the presence of HPV lead to cervical cancer. 
What does a positive HPV test mean?
Most HPV infections go away without treatment because the immune system finds the virus and either gets rid of it or suppresses it to the point that it is unlikely to cause additional problems. Even though HPV is found in cervical cancer, most people testing positive for HPV are not at risk for getting cervical cancer because they have the virus for only a short time (months rather than many years). Therefore, women with a normal Pap who test positive for HPV will usually be tested again in 6-12 months. 
If HPV is accompanied by an abnormal pap smear follow up tests such as colposcopy and biopsy can help evaluate the abnormality and remove any potentially malignant cells. If further treatment is recommended, the patient and her provider usually have several options to consider, and time in which to consider them. Treatment is almost always successful in preventing cervical cancer if the abnormal cells are found in time. But this very effective system of protection can work only when each woman takes responsibility for the first step herself, by having a Pap test at regular intervals. According to the National Cancer Institute, about half of women with newly diagnosed cervical cancer have never had a Pap test, and another 10% have not had in the past 5 years.
Will HPV reoccur?
Warts and dysplasia do recur in some cases, but by no means all. When they recur, they show varying persistance.  Some people experience just one more episode, and other several. The good news for most people is with time, the immune system seems to take charge of the virus, making recurrences less frequent and often eliminating them entirely within two years. The limiting factor here is the state of the immune system itself. If an individual's immune system is impaired- by the use of certain medications, by the HIV infection, or by some temporary trauma such as excessive stress, serious illness, or surgery- it may be unable to prevent a recurrence. However, if the immune system is weakened only temporarily, most likely the recurrence will be short-lived.
The concern about life-long recurrences may be based on a misconception rather than a myth. It's true that at present there is no known cure for genital human papillomavirus. As a virus, it will remain in the infected person's cells for an indefinite time-most often in a latent state but occasionally producing symptoms or disease. Recent studies from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and from the University of Washington suggest that HPV may eventually be cleared, or rooted out altogether, in most people with well-functioning immune systems. However, in at least some cases the virus apparently does remain in the body indefinetly, able to produce symptoms if the immune system weakens.
What does HPV mean for my partner?
Most sexually active couples share HPV until the immune response eliminates the infection. Partners who are sexually intimate only with each other are not likely to pass the same virus back and forth. When HPV infection goes away the immune system will remember that HPV type and keep a new infection of the same HPV type from occurring again. However, because there are many different types of HPV, becoming immune to one HPV type may not protect you from getting HPV again if exposed to another HPV. 
Condoms do not offer complete protection from HPV. Increasing numbers of partners increases the risk of getting HPV, but the virus is so common that having a single lifetime partner does not assure protection. It is usually impossible to determine when, and from whom, HPV was caught. HPV may be detected fairly soon after exposure, or may not be found until many years later. For all these reasons, it is not helpful nor fair to blame your partner.