Microbicide & Safe Sex (9)

HPV

Human papillomavirus or HPV, is the name for a group of viruses that includes more than 100 types. More than 40 types of HPV can be passed through sexual contact.

The types of HPV that infect the genital area are called genital HPV. Over half of sexually active people will have HPV at some point in their lives. But most people never know it. This is because HPV most often has no symptoms and goes away on its own.

HPV is passed on through genital contact, most often during vaginal and anal sex. HPV may also be passed on during oral sex and genital-to-genital contact. HPV can be passed on between straight and same-sex partners—even when the infected partner has no signs or symptoms.

A person can have HPV even if years have passed since he or she had sexual contact with an infected person. Most infected persons do not realize they are infected or that they are passing the virus on to a sex partner. It is also possible to get more than one type of HPV. Very rarely, a pregnant woman with genital HPV can pass HPV to her baby during delivery. In these cases, the child can develop Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP), a rare condition in which warts grow in the throat. In children, this is also referred to as juvenile-onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (JORRP).

Microbicide & Safe Sex (4)

Genital Warts

Genital warts (or Condylomata acuminata, venereal warts, anal warts and anogenital warts) is a highly contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by some sub-types of human papillomavirus (HPV).
Genital warts are flesh-colored or gray growths found in the genital area and anal region in both men and women.

It is spread through direct skin-to-skin contact during oral, genital, or anal sex with an infected partner.
Genital warts affect both men and women and can occur at any age.
Most patients with genital warts are between the ages of 17-33 years. Genital warts are highly contagious. There is around a 60% risk of getting the infection from a single sexual contact with someone who has genital warts.

Whilst of those infected with genital HPV it is estimated that only a "small percentage" (between 1% and 5%) develop genital warts, those infected can still transmit the virus. Other types of HPV also cause cervical cancer and probably most anal cancers, however it is important to underline that the types of HPV that cause the overwhelming majority of genital warts are not the same as those that can potentially increase the risk of genital or anal cancer.

Although genital warts are painless, they may be bothersome because of their location, size, or due to itching.

You can’t get genital warts from hugging, sharing baths or towels, from swimming pools, toilet seats, cups or cutlery.

Symptoms
Genital warts are usually painless and do not pose a serious threat to a person’s health. However, they can appear unsightly and cause psychological distress.

Journals Excerpts of Microbicide & HPV

About HPV
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus from the papillomavirus family that is capable of infecting humans. Like all papillomaviruses, HPVs establish productive infections only in keratinocytes of the skin or mucous membranes.

While the majority of the known types of HPV cause no symptoms in most people, some types can cause warts (verrucae), while others can – in a minority of cases – lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, oropharynx and anus. Recently, HPV has been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.In addition, HPV 16 and 18 infections are strongly associated with an increased odds ratio of developing orophanyngeal cancer.

More than 30 to 40 types of HPV are typically transmitted through sexual contact and infect the anogenital region. Some sexually transmitted HPV types may cause genital warts. Persistent infection with "high-risk" HPV types — different from the ones that cause skin warts — may progress to precancerous lesions and invasive cancer. HPV infection is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. However, most infections with these types do not cause disease.

Microbicide & HPV
HIV-1, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2), and human papillomavirus (HPV), among other sexually transmitted infections, represent a major burden for global health. Initial insights into the mucosal transmission of these viral pathogens have raised optimism with regard to the rapid generation of protective vaccines. Nevertheless, setbacks for HIV-1 and HSV-2 vaccines have seriously challenged the initial enthusiasm.

Recently, two new vaccines that efficiently prevented HPV infection have renewed the hope that vaccinal prevention of viral mucosal sexually transmitted infections is possible. HIV-1 and HSV-2 differ from HPV, and each virus needs to be tackled with a distinct approach. However, vaccines are not the only possible answer. Topically applied agents (microbicides) are an attractive alternative in the prevention of HIV-1 and HSV-2 mucosal transmission. Progress in understanding the mechanisms of genital transmission of HIV-1 and HSV-2 is required for successful vaccine or microbicide candidates to emerge from current approaches.
(Vaccines and microbicides preventing HIV-1, HSV-2, and HPV mucosal transmission; Nikolic DS, Piguet V.)