What is HPV?
The human papillomavirus, or
HPV for short, is a
very common virus - there are around 100 different HPV types of which approximately 40 can infect the genital tract. These 40 can be classified as non-cancer-causing types and cancer-causing types. The non-cancer-causing types are known to cause genital warts. The cancer-causing types, of which there are approximately 15, could cause the growth of abnormal cells on a woman’s cervix, which if left undetected and untreated could go on to develop into cervical cancer.
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Two cancer-causing types of the virus (HPV 16 and 18) together can cause approximately 70% of cervical cancer.
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How do you catch HPV?
You catch HPV by being sexually active with someone who has the virus. HPV can be passed from person to person either through sexual intercourse or intimate skin-to-skin contact in the genital area. It only takes one infected person to pass the virus on - this means that it is possible to catch the virus from just one sexual experience.
3 The more people you or your partner are sexually active with, the more likely you are to catch the virus.
HPV is very common and 3 out of 4 women who are, or have been, sexually active are likely to be infected with the virus at some time in their lives.
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The virus is usually cleared naturally but sometimes it persists and could go on to develop into cervical cancer.
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What can I do to reduce my risk?
How do you know if you have got HPV?
You probably won’t know if you’ve been infected with one of the cervical cancer-causing types of HPV as they don’t usually cause any symptoms.
23 The virus is usually cleared naturally but sometimes it persists and could lead to cervical cancer.
4 This is why attending regular cervical screening when invited is really important.
6 Smear tests allow doctors and nurses to find – and then treat if required – any abnormal
cells on the
cervix which could have gone on to develop into
cervical cancer over time.
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