 |
WARNING: You may not want your children to read some topics in this section. |
Physical signs and tests
Treatments for genital warts
HPV, genital warts, pregnancy and babies
HPV (or the Human Papilloma Virus) is the medical name for the common wart virus. There have now been more than 100 different types of wart virus identified, each is given a number, for example 'type 6'. Some types of wart virus cause warts on the skin, others cause genital warts (usually types 6 and 11) and a few types are linked with changing the cells of a woman's cervix (especially types 16, 18, 31 and 33). However, most people carry HPV for many years 'subclinically'. This means the person is infected with the wart virus but does not have any physical signs.
HPV is very widespread in both men and women. It is estimated that up to 80% of the population carry some type (or several types) of wart virus. How the different types of wart virus are transmitted is not fully understood, but it is thought they are spread through close body contact with another person. Some interesting facts about HPV include: