HPV (Genital Human Papillomavirus)
HPV Fact Sheet (PDF 73 KB)
What is HPV?
Genital HPV infection is a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that is
caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), the virus that can sometimes cause
genital warts and, in rare cases, can lead to cervical cancer in women.
There are 30 different types of genital HPV infection, which are categorized
into either “high-risk” or “low-risk” types. It is common for an
individual to have more than one type.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease and infects 6.2 million
men and women each year; over 20 million people living in the United States
are currently infected. Of those, 9.2 million are between the ages of 15 and
24 years. It is estimated that 50% of all sexually active women will be
infected with HPV in their lifetime. It is likely that similar rates exist
for men, although there is no reliable screening method to collect this
information at this time.
Transmission
Genital HPV infection affects the genital areas of both men and women and
is transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact. It is most efficiently
passed through vaginal or anal sexual intercourse, but there is also a risk
of being passed through oral-genital, manual-genital, or external
genital-to-genital contact.
Only in rare cases has HPV been passed from a woman to her baby.
Risk factors for acquiring genital HPV include:
- Being under the age of 25.
- Having multiple sex partners.
- First intercourse at 16 years or younger.
- Having sex partners who’ve had multiple sex partners.
HPV : General
Information | Symptoms |
Prevention |
Diagnosis |
Treatment |
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