HPV: The Most Common STI for Sexually Active People

Sexually active teens and adults see red ribbons and "Wrap It Up" commercials for HIV/AIDS. We hear about STDs in the classroom, like gonorrhea, chlamydia and herpes, but how often do you hear about the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) of all? According to CDC, there are more than 40 types of genital human papillomavirus (HPV) infecting men and women, and at least 50 percent of sexually active people will get the STI at some point in their lives.

Unless a woman regularly gets a pap smear, which will usually show abnormal cells in the genitalia, she may never know she has it. Unlike some other STDs, HPV doesn't always have warning signs. CDC reports that "Most people with HPV do not develop symptoms or health problems from it. In 90% of cases, the body's immune system clears HPV naturally within two years."

However, HPV can lead to cervical cancer, and unfortunately, cervical cancer does not have symptoms until it is advanced. For women who don't get regular pap smears and/or a colposcopy and biopsy to watch for cancer cells beforehand, it is a heightened risk. Some of the cancers can be found in the vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and head and neck.

Because the body's immune system may naturally fight it off within a couple years, the infected cells will go back to normal. When the body can't fight it off, that's when genital warts form or cancer may progress. Genital warts show up weeks or months after a person gets HPV, and 1 percent of people get them in a lifetime. However, cancer often takes years to develop after being diagnosed with HPV. Each year, 12,000 women get cervical cancer.

HPV is passed most often through anal and vaginal sex, and over half of sexually active people will get it at some point in their lives. The only three ways to prevent HPV from spreading are to be tested for HPV ahead of time so you know your partner's status, abstinence or limiting sexual partners. However, just like pregnancy or any other STD, it only takes one partner to spread HPV so even if you're faithful to one partner, if he has it and doesn't know it, that could increase your chances of getting it, too.

For those who practice safe sex, condoms are recommended to protect against STDs. The only problem is that a male condom does not cover the entire male genitalia, which means if a woman's genitalia touches a man's genitalia (including the scrotum area), she still has a high risk of being infected with HPV. Female condoms, on the other hand, protect the entire female genitalia area.

There's also a vaccine currently out that females between the ages of 11 and 12, or 13 through 26 years of age can take before ever having sexual intercourse. The two vaccines for females are called Cervarix and Gardasil. The vaccine for males, Gardasil, is available for males ranging in age from 9 to 26.

Source:
"Colposcopy and Cervical Biopsy"
"Genital HPV infection - Fact Sheet"