How do you gat HPV?

HPV is passed by skin-to-skin contact of the genitals during sex.   This includes vaginal and anal sex, and even genital touching.  HPV can also be passed during oral sex, but this is rare.

HPV is easy to transmit because:

• HPV lives in the skin and is found on skin surfaces.
• Warts or other changes are often hard to see.  So people can have HPV without knowing it.

HPV is a common STD

Experts believe that over 70% of people who have had sex have had HPV.  HPV has different effects on different people:

• No symptoms. Most people with HPV don't ever know they have it.  They never have symptoms or other problems.
• Genital warts. Some people with HPV get warts.  These are small, flat or round bumps on, around or inside the sex organs of both men and women.
• Cell changes. HPV can cause cell changes in the cervix, penis or anus.  Sometimes these cell changes lead to cancer.

No one can say who will have symptoms and who will not.

Is HPV dangerous?

Of the many types of HPV, some are more risky than others.

• Low-risk types are not associated with cancer.  They may cause ganital watrs or noncancerous changes on the cervix.  Or they may cause no symptoms.
• High-risk types do not cause warts or other symptoms a person can see or feel.  But they can cause cell changers on a woman's cervix that can become cancer and must be treated.

High-risk types of HPV are also linked to cancer of the vulva ( the area outside the vagina) in women, cancer of the penis in men, and cancer of the anus in men and women.

Cervical Cancer

The changes caused by HPV show up on a woman's Pap test.  Left untreated, the cervical changes caused by high-risk HPV sometimes lead to cancer.

Most women with high-risk HPV will not get cervical cancer.  But it's impossible to predict who will.  So all women must have regular Pap tests (every 1-3 years).

In some cases, women with high-risk HPV will need to have Pap tests more often, depending on how serious the infection is.

You Can Reduce Your Risk

You can take steps to help protect yourself from HPV.  If you have HPV, you can prevent cancer.

HPV

You can reduce your risk of getting HPV.

• Don't have sex.  This includes any genital touching.  This will eliminate your risk.
• Use condoms during sex.  Male or female condoms may reduce your risk.  (But if skin not covered by the condom contains the virus, you can still get HPV.)
• Have sex with only one partner who only has sex with you.  The more partners you  have sex with, the higher your risk of getting HPV, (Remember, a person can have HPV without knowing it and can pass it in to you.)

Cervical Cancer

You can reduce your risk of getting cervical cancer.

• Get regular Pap tests. About half of the women who learn they have cervical cancer have never had a Pap test.  Ten percent haven't been tested in the past 5 years.
• Get checked by a doctor if you have any unusual growths in the genital area or the anal area.

Genital Warts

Warts caused by low-risk HPV may be too small to see.  Or they can become large and worrisome to the person who has them.

Except for their appearance, genital warts are not a big problem.  Warts may go away o ntheir own.  Or they can be treated and removed by a doctor.

Once warts are gone, the person may no longer have HPV in the body.  But someitmes HPV stays inthe body and causes more warts later on.

Who Should Be Tested?

• All women should have regular Pap test
• Women with an abnormal Pap result may be tested for HPV to see if they have a high-risk type.
• Women and men with unusual growths in the genital area or the anal area should see a doctor.

TO LEARN MORE

Call the CDC National STD and AIDS Hotline

1-800-342-2437