HPV (Human papillomavirus, HPV) is a virus, the Chinese name is human papillomavirus, mainly through sexual contact, but also through indirect transmission, such as children, adolescent girls can be found in the presence of HPV infection. Currently, there are more than 100 HPV subtypes that can be detected, and they are divided into low-risk and high-risk types according to their pathogenicity. Low-risk HPV generally does not lead to cervical cancer and often causes genital warts or is asymptomatic; high-risk HPV infection may lead to cervical precancer and cervical cancer. Studies have found that 99.7% of all cervical cancers are caused by infection with high-risk HPV, and the health risks associated with different subtypes of HPV vary. Infection with high-risk HPV subtype 16 has been reported in up to 76.6% of cervical cancer tissues. HPV infection is a very common occurrence in life, with about 80% of women having a transient HPV infection during their lifetime. Most people with HPV infection are almost asymptomatic and do not experience easily identifiable symptoms such as fever or localized redness. Under normal circumstances, HPV is cleared by the body’s own immune system, so most HPV infections will go away on their own. It is similar to when you get a viral cold, you may not have cold symptoms and your virus has been cleared from your body. However, if the same subtype of HPV virus persists for more than 2 years or 2 homozygous infections with 1 year interval of HPV testing, then it needs to be taken seriously and may lead to cervical precancerous lesions. Thankfully, however, the progression from cervical precancer to cancer is also a long process, usually taking 10-15 years. During this time it is entirely possible to determine if a cervical lesion has developed through early detection with triple-step screening, cervical cytology (TCT) + HPV testing —– colposcopy —– cervical biopsy. HPV infection is not scary, what is important is that we understand it properly. Prevention is better than cure, and cervical cancer will be eliminated.