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HPV, otherwise known as the Human Papillomavirus, is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the country. Recent figures say that 20 million people are infected with HPV, and at least 50 percent of people who are sexually active will contract the virus at some point in their life. Approximately 6.2 million Americans develop the infection every year.
HPV is primarily transmitted through genital or anal sex. Chances are, women have heard about it numerous times from a doctor or from friends that have contracted it. Unless a girlfriend has discussed it, most men probably have never heard of it.
There are more than 100 different strains of HPV, yet most of the infected aren’t aware of HPV’s presence in their system. The virus rests under the skin or inside the mucous membranes, and doesn’t have any consistent external symptoms. The virus can stay dormant for a number of years before coming to the surface in the form of genital or anal warts, and it could cause abnormal cell growth (dysplasia) on the female cervix, which could lead to cervical cancer. Christine Pearson, a spokesperson for the Center for Disease Control, says that on average there are about 9,700 new cases and 3,700 deaths of cervical cancer each year.
Because men are carriers of this virus and rarely show symptoms, it is mostly females who discover they are infected, through the diagnosis of an abnormal Pap test. There aren’t any cures for HPV at this time, although there are treatments that attempt to control the virus. Earlier this year, the FDA (the U.S. Food and Drug Administration) approved one such treatment. Pearson says a vaccination is a step into improving the lives of those afflicted with the illness. “This is a really important breakthrough,” she says. “It addresses a major health problem for both men and women and could help prevent cases of HPV.”
