Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States. There are many different types of HPV, including types that can cause genital warts and cancers.

There is a vaccination for HPV and all pre-teens ages 11 or 12 years should get vaccinated. Rhode Island law requires students entering 7th grade to have received the first dose of the HPV vaccine series, with all three doses completed by 9th grade. If you are older than 12 and have not been vaccinated, discuss the benefits of getting an HPV vaccine at any age with a healthcare provider.

Risks

• spreads through sex (vaginal, oral, or anal) without a condom with a partner who has the infection
• you can get HPV even if you have had sex with only one person
• you can develop symptoms years after having sex with an infected person, which makes it difficult to know when you first got it

Symptoms

• in most cases (9 out of 10), HPV goes away on its own within two years without health problems
• when HPV does not go away, it can cause health problems like genital warts and cancer
• genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area – small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower

Testing

• no test to find out a person’s “HPV status”
• a healthcare provider can usually diagnose warts by looking at the genital area

Treatment

• there is no treatment for the virus itself, but there are treatments for the health problems that HPV can cause, like genital warts, cervical precancer and other HPV-related cancers when found and treated early

Source and more info: CDC – HPV