How HPV is transmitted from person to person, how it can get infected

An HPV vector may not be aware that it is infected. Symptoms do not appear immediately and only in the form of papillomas of different localization:

1. Vulgar. They appear in the form of a small hard bump with a diameter of about 1 cm, most often on the hands.
2. Filiform. Small seals in the shape of yellow cones often change and grow.
3. Plantar warts. Often confused with corns.
4. Apartment. Itching before the manifestation, similar to the manifestation of an allergy. Then they become round, light.
5. Pointed warts. They are found in intimate places, on the mucous membrane.

In women with formations on the genitals, accompanying signs may appear:

• heat;
• itch;
• violation of the cycle;
• pain, blood at the sites of neoplasms.

In men, HPV rarely manifests itself in the form of genital warts, they act as carriers of the disease.

Blood test for papillomavirus type 18 (16)

A blood test for human papillomavirus in developed countries is used for mass detection of carriers and sick people. The diagnostic confidence of cytology is up to 95%. A DNA test in the United States is done for the following indications:

• In women over 30, as a screening test;
• To identify questionable search results;
• In the absence of screening programs;
• For follow-up after cervical cancer removal.

The list of diagnostic procedures for the detection of papillomavirus:

1. Cytological examination in combination with the Digene test allows to determine the clinically significant concentration of the virus in the blood;
2. Urological, gynecological examination - to detect genital warts, genital warts;
3. Histological examination of a piece of tissue taken after a gynecological or urological examination.

The main task of papillomavirus diagnosis is the detection of precancerous conditions. Colposcopy and cytology are the most common and affordable ways to diagnose the disease.

Transfer methods

Among the mechanisms under the influence of which you can get infected, there are:

• contact;
• vertical (from mother to child during labor).

The implementation of the contact mechanism takes place through sexual and family contact modalities. Therefore, HPV can be transmitted through:

• handshake and kiss;
• the use of other people's hygiene products, which include razor, washcloth, soap, towel and cosmetics;
• wearing clothes that belong to the carrier of the infection;
• visit public baths, saunas and swimming pools.

The oncogenic types of the virus are sexually transmitted. The risk of infection increases many times in those people who are promiscuous in partners. The more often they change, the greater the likelihood of infection and even using a condom you cannot be sure of your safety.

You can also get infected with homosexual relationships, because it is they who are characterized by injuries to the epithelium and mucous membrane. And even then a condom doesn't help much. The presence of warts on a sexual partner's body also signals the possibility of acquiring HPV through microtrauma on the body.

Pregnant women who are carriers of HPV should be aware of the possibility of infecting a baby as it passes through the birth canal.

Infection is carried out only in the presence of characteristic growths in the genital area and cervix. At the same time, papillomavirus infection in a child manifests itself in the form of growths in the larynx, which are especially dangerous. It will be difficult for the baby to breathe and eat, possibly even choking.

To begin with, it is worth saying that papilloma is transmitted through the epidermis and saliva. At the same time, the infection may not make itself felt for some time and manifest itself in the formation of genital warts and papillomas only with a decrease in immunity. If we talk about how papillomavirus is transmitted, the likelihood of infection increases significantly if there are damage, scratches and abrasions on the skin.

Attention! Many people are interested in whether the papilloma is inherited. The answer is no. Just when one of the family members becomes infected, the papilloma virus is passed on at home or from the mother to the baby during childbirth.

There is an opinion that most often the human papillomavirus is transmitted through sexual contact. This is true, but there are other routes of infection as well. The incubation period of the human papillomavirus can be up to 10 years. Papillomas on the body can form through a simple touch or through another person's saliva.

There are more than a hundred strains of HPV, most of which are transmitted through various types of close contact.

sexually

HPV is sexually transmitted. This reason is considered the most common and insidious, because often girls and boys are unaware of the presence of an infection in the blood. Popular protection methods do not provide 100% security against the virus, especially if it is not a barrier method.

A condom offers little protection against HPV. It all depends on the type of infection and the person's immune system.

HPV can affect the skin anywhere on the body. Papilloma is often sexually transmitted.

Infection can also occur through a condom. This is due to the fact that the virus lives on the superficial tissues and easily colonizes the mucous membranes.

In the presence of a microabrasion, the virus enters the bloodstream and begins its destructive work. As a result of the infection, genital warts or neoplasms resembling cauliflower appear on the mucous tissues of the genital organs.

Men often infect their partners during intimate relationships. They have stronger immune systems and rarely show visible signs of infection. If there are a lot of sexual relationships with unfamiliar women, they may be in the role of virus carriers for some time. Papillomavirus can be transmitted from woman to man if the sexual partner has a weak immune system.

A person who is naturally immune to this virus can touch warts, have sex with a sick person, and stay healthy. There are cases where one partner has tested positive for HPV and the other negative, despite living together for a long time.

Other routes of infection

The method of infection by domestic means is quite common, as is the possibility of getting an infection during sexual intercourse.

The virus can be transmitted while swimming in contaminated water, outdoor or indoor swimming pools. You can see peculiar growths on the body some time after visiting a bath or sauna where an infected person has been visited.

HPV is transmitted intranatally or transplacental. For each method there is a certain risk of infection.

Research suggests that cesarean delivery increases the likelihood of human papillomavirus infection. During natural birth or artificial birth in women, the risk of infection does not change.

The recurrent course of respiratory papillomatosis is provoked by the presence of different types of pathogens: 68, 59, 56, 52, 51, 45, 39, 35, 33, 31, 18, 16. The differences in the oncogenicity of serotypes are found in the ability of each type to determine the number of intracellular divisions.

Transmission of HPV through sexual contact

Through sexual intercourse, HPV is transmitted as a sexually transmitted infection. After contact of the blood of a carrier or an infected person with the blood of a donor (through erosion, cracks in the genital organs), the virion enters the bloodstream. Clinical symptoms are formed based on the serotype of the virus:

• Vulgar plantar warts are caused by HPV types 63, 1, 4, 2;
• Flat warts - 75, 41, 28, 49. 10, 3;
• Verruciform epidermodysplasia is observed in patients with papillomatosis due to serotype 11 or 6.

According to scientists, there are many papillomaviruses that have not yet been examined. Humanity has carefully studied oncogenic representatives, which made it possible to create effective protection against cervical cancer in women.

The mechanism of infection with the papillomavirus in a domestic way

Human papillomavirus is a highly contagious virus and, according to statistics, 50 to 70% of the population is infected with it. However, the clinical manifestations of the infection are not as common, in about 1-2% of cases. A person does not even realize that they are a carrier of HPV until there is a decrease in immunity and activation of the virus. By knowing the main ways HPV is transmitted, you can protect yourself from unwanted symptoms. So, HPV - how is the disease transmitted? All possible ways of transmission will be discussed below.

Papilloma: how is it transmitted and what is it?

There are currently about 100 different varieties of viruses known. Among them, there are both harmless to humans and dangerous in terms of the development of cancer.

The following facts can be encouraging: Viruses that cause warts and papillomas belong to 6 and 11 subtypes that have a low cancer risk. Oncogenic subtypes include strains 16 and 18, which cause cell mutations and cervical cancer.

The papilloma virus multiplies exclusively in the cells of the skin and mucous membranes, causing them to divide uncontrollably. As a result, a person has the following clinical manifestations:

• various warts (common, flat, plantar);
• genital warts;
• papillomatosis of the mouth and larynx;
• papillomas of the internal organs.

The role of the virus in the development of cervical cancer in women and penile cancer in men has been proven, so it is important to know how the papillomavirus is transmitted to prevent infection.

Human papillomavirus: routes of transmission

It is impossible to detect the presence of a virus in the body on your own if there are no characteristic growths on the skin or mucous membranes. Specialized medical tests will allow to identify a sleep pathology. The absence of symptoms does not guarantee that a person is not dangerous to others.

How is papillomavirus (HPV) transmitted? Doctors distinguish several ways.

Contact the home way

HPV is passed on through the family. It is worth noting that rarely, but this option for getting human papillomavirus (PVI) infection, nevertheless, has a right to exist.

You can get infected by shaking hands, using common household items - towels, slippers, wearing someone else's clothes, especially underwear. An infection often occurs when visiting the pool, fitness center.

The microscopic organism has such high activity that HPV is transmitted through saliva, a kiss.

The risk of infection increases if the skin has abrasions, scratches, microcracks and various wounds. Especially contagious are people with characteristic manifestations of the disease - warts and papillomas.

A fairly common question: Will washing your hands regularly reduce the risk of infection? Of course, clean skin is more protected. However, hygiene measures do not protect against papillomavirus infection.

Is papillomavirus (HPV) sexually transmitted?

One sexual contact is enough to infect a person. HPV is transmitted through oral, vaginal, and anal sex.

Most often, the infection comes from a man, but the opposite situation is also possible, when reverse HPV infection is recorded, from a woman to a man.

The predisposing factors are:

• first intimacy at a young age;
• frequent changes of sexual partners, why not forget that the papillomavirus is sexually transmitted;
• the presence of genital warts on the genitals.

Papilloma is also transmitted sexually through homosexual relationships, during which minor lesions of the skin and mucous membranes of the anal area occur. This significantly increases the risk of infection, especially if one of the partners has external manifestations of the disease - anogenital warts.

Is human papillomavirus transmitted through protected sex? Unfortunately yes. HPV is transmitted through a condom, as warts invisible to the eye can be located in the groin region not protected by the product.

Using condoms greatly reduces the risk of infection, but does not provide a complete guarantee of safety. Despite this, the use of condoms is recommended for all people who have multiple sexual partners.

HPV is easily transmitted through oral sex. This increases the risk of developing tonsillar cancer, especially if a person has been infected with oncogenic strains.

Papillomavirus: transmission from mother to child (vertical method)

Many pregnant women worry: Is HPV passed from mother to child? Unfortunately, such a route of infection takes place, and infection can occur both transplacental (in the prenatal period) and during childbirth.

If the first option is an incredible rarity, when a baby passes through an infected birth canal, a baby can contract the papillomavirus with a high degree of probability.

Possible infection of the larynx, bronchi and trachea in a newborn. The virus is introduced into the mucous membranes and stimulates the formation of growths. Laryngeal papillomatosis can lead to stenosis and suffocation of the baby, especially if the vocal cords are affected. Any infection, a cold leads to swelling of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, and in the presence of concomitant papillomas, this ends with difficulty in inhaling and exhaling.

Papillomavirus (PVI) infection is included in the group of anthroponotic pathogens (transmission is carried out exclusively from person to person). If we talk about how you can get infected with papillomavirus (HPV), mainly through sexual contact with an infected partner. In addition, the virus can remain active in dead skin cells for a certain (relatively short) period of time, therefore, in certain situations, human papillomavirus infection is carried out by household means. Now a little more about how to get HPV and what methods of infection exist.

Contagious papillomatosis

First of all, it is worth answering the question: "Is papilloma contagious? " Undoubtedly. And the appearance of warts requires complex treatment, which includes not only the removal of the formations, but also the administration of the necessary drugs.

Is latent HPV contagious? Another frequent question from patients. The answer will also be positive. It is worth knowing that even the practice of protected sex is not a full guarantee against contagion. The virus can be based on the groin and the surface of the genitals, not protected by a condom.

Human papillomavirus: sexually transmitted infection

The main mode of transmission of papilloma is sexual intercourse with an infected partner. This type of transmission is typical for most varieties of viruses with high oncogenic activity.

The risk of contracting the disease is particularly high in men and women who are promiscuous when choosing a sexual partner. People with homosexual inclinations should also be included in the risk group. The practice of anal sex is accompanied by trauma to the skin and mucous membranes, which greatly facilitates the process of introducing HPV DNA into the human body.

A person often considers the growths on the skin to be harmless and treats them with folk methods. This mistake can have dangerous consequences: the abnormal growth of epithelial tissue exacerbates the spread of the papillomavirus throughout the body, and some of its strains cause cell mutations with the formation of various types of cancer.

More than 80% of the world population is carriers of the human papillomavirus, regardless of age and race.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common disease against which neither children nor adults are protected. Getting infected with this infection is quite simple, because its cells are all around us and keep their vitality without a carrier for a long time.

In addition, it can imperceptibly settle in the human body and will not manifest itself up to a certain point. All this time, the infected object is a carrier of the disease, which is why HPV is transmitted both to people who are close to it and to members of its family.

Papillomavirus - a provocateur of the development of oncology

Nearly one in three people have small growths on their body that initially appear harmless and harmless. When such neoplasms are found, the patient's first reaction is to tear or remove them using folk methods.

Indeed, such actions often cause irreparable harm to health, since improper removal of the papilloma can provoke an active proliferation of epithelial tissues. This is what contributes to the rapid spread of HPV in the body and in some cases even causes a mutation of the skin cells with subsequent degeneration into a cancerous tumor.

To date, scientists have divided all types of papillomaviruses into three categories:

• safe;
• low oncogenic;
• highly oncogenic.

One of the characteristics of HPV is that it is not a sexually transmitted disease in the usual sense of the term. The sexual route is only one of the many modes of infection and far from being the main one. That's why condoms can't always protect against human papillomavirus.

We offer to understand what methods of transmission of the virus exist, how infection occurs and whether it can be avoided.

In total, medicine knows about 130 types of human papillomaviruses. Only about 40 of them affect the genitals. For most of these 40 types, the sexual transmission route is the primary one, but studies show that it is not the only one.

HPV prevention

There are a number of preventive measures, due to which it is very likely that human papillomavirus infection will not enter the body.

• all skin damage must be treated with antiseptics;
• use only personal hygiene products;
• in public saunas, baths and swimming pools it is necessary to use rubber slippers;
• any disease must be treated in a timely manner;
• loyalty to a sexual partner who can be trusted;
• use a condom for any sexual intercourse. Although this does not guarantee safety, however, through the condom, the papillomavirus enters the body of both women and men with less probability;
• regular exercise;
• hardening of the body;
• adherence to sleep and nutrition.

Such precautions should be taken not only to avoid HPV infection but other sexually transmitted infections as well. The condom provides a guarantee against the infection of many diseases that cause the activation of the HPV virus.

In the case of the presence of a virus in the body of pregnant women and its manifestations in the genital area, a comprehensive examination and removal of such neoplasms is required. If there are papillomas on the genitals, a caesarean section is recommended for a woman to prevent infection of the baby while passing through the birth canal.

There is a special vaccine against viruses of highly oncogenic strains, which is mainly recommended for women under the age of 26 and adolescents. Even under the condition that the HPV carrier himself is vaccinated, his immunity greatly improves and the virus goes into an inactive phase.

At the same time, it is necessary to take into account that the virus does not disappear from the body, and as a result, the person remains a carrier of the infection. For safety reasons, you must use a condom during intercourse and only use personal hygiene products.

We have understood how the human papillomavirus is transmitted (women, men and children), now it remains to consider preventive measures. It must be said right away that the most effective way to avoid being infected is preventive vaccination.

To date, two types of vaccines against this infection are known. They protect against the most dangerous oncogenic strains of a viral infection.

However, the high efficacy of such protection is observed only when vaccinated at an early age, before sexual activity or before infection with one of the HPV strains.

In order not to get infected with the human papillomavirus, you need to follow a few simple rules that will help you avoid other more serious health problems:

• be careful when choosing sexual partners - avoid casual contact;
• observe the rules of personal hygiene - wash your hands more often, especially after visiting public places;
• strengthen immunity - if possible, avoid stress and overwork;
• get vaccinated - the vaccine appeared relatively recently, in 2006.

Despite having studied the ways of transmission of the human papillomavirus, and following all the rules of prevention, it is impossible to fully protect yourself from HPV infection. If you have had contact with a sick person and are afraid that the virus may be transmitted, you can do a blood test for PCR. This way you will get a reliable answer. But it should be noted that HPV does not require treatment if there are no characteristic clinical manifestations.