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Human papillomavirus (HPV): Transmission, symptoms and screening

How is HPV transmitted?

Human papilloma virus (HPV) often causes no symptoms. You can be infected without knowing it and pass it on to your sexual partners.

HPV is transmitted from person to person through direct skin-to-skin contact and sexual contact. There are two categories of HPV:

  • Low-risk, which is limited to causing genital warts
  • High-risk, which causes more than 70% of cervical cancers

Most women exposed to HPV will not develop cervical cancer. However, for some people, the infection can gradually turn into cancer if there is no screening and treatment.

What are the symptoms of HPV?

  • Symptoms of HPV infection may appear 2 to 3 months and even years after infection.
  • HPV infection is characterized by soft or hard genital warts, which are pink, flesh-coloured, white, brown or grey. They can be similar to ordinary warts or look like cauliflower or rooster crests.
  • For women, these warts are found on the vulva, cervix, vagina and anus, and for men, on or under the foreskin, at the entrance to the urethra, on the penis and around the anus.

How to get tested?

Learn more about this Biron's screening tests (HPV test and PAP test)

You have no test requisition ?

If you don't have a test requistion for your HPV test, Biron's health professionals can prescribe one for you by booking an appointment for cervical cancer screening.

What are the treatments for human papilloma virus (HPV) infections?

No medical treatment allows an individual to get rid of the human papilloma virus (HPV). Most of the time, the immune system will be able to eliminate the infection within a few months. There are, however, efficient medical treatments for clinical manifestations of the infection. Anogenital warts (condylomas) and other lesions caused by a low cancer risk HPV type can be efficiently treated with medicated creams or gels and cryotherapy. Many options are available for women infected with high cancer risk HPV types, such as cryosurgery, laser surgery, electro-surgical excision procedure (LEEP) or standard surgical excision. Although all these treatments will successfully eliminate warts and precancerous and cancerous lesions, they will not eliminate the virus and recurrences can happen without the individual being in contact with the HPV virus again.

Sexual protection and especially vaccination are efficient ways to protect individuals against HPV infection from low and high cancer risk types and their complications.

Need more information?
For more information, do not hesitate to contact Biron’s customer service at 1 833 590-2712.