HPV is the abbreviation for Human Papillomavirus (HPV), which is known to have more than 200 subtypes, with about 30 types associated with human reproductive tract infections.
1. What is HPV transmitted through? How to prevent infection?
HPV is mainly transmitted directly through sexual intercourse, and occasionally indirectly through contaminated clothing and equipment.
Sexual contact is the main way to get HPV, therefore, avoid premature sexual intercourse, keep relatively fixed sexual partners, and use condoms to reduce the chance of mutual transmission. Also maintain good habits and a healthy body, even if infected with a small amount of virus, will help to clear the virus as early as possible.
2.HPV positive, can I get pregnant?
The effect of HPV on the fetus is uncertain, so if you test positive for HPV, you should avoid getting pregnant. If you accidentally become pregnant, you do not have to abort and can continue to maintain the pregnancy, but regular cervical follow up is required.
3. Which delivery method is better to choose if I am pregnant and HPV positive?
Newborns can acquire HPV infection during transvaginal delivery. The chance of infection is similar to that of transabdominal cesarean delivery, so HPV infection is not an absolute indication for cesarean delivery. The need for a cesarean section should be decided according to the indications of the obstetrics department.
4.Will you get cancer if you have condyloma acuminata?
Researchers have classified HPV viruses into two categories, high-risk HPV and low-risk HPV, based on the risk of HPV causing cancer in humans. According to the International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC), the 13 low-risk HPV types mainly cause genital tract and perianal skin warts and low-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; the 15 high-risk HPV types, especially types 16 and 18, mainly cause high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer.
Whether or not you get cancer is related to the subtype of virus you are infected with, not to acromegaly.
5.What kind of people need to be tested for HPV virus?
People aged ≥30 years old can undergo HPV screening at the same time as TCT to improve the accuracy of the test and to help guide the screening interval in the future to achieve the most economical and effective screening effect.
TCT with ASCUS and postmenopausal LSIL can be used to screen for HPV in order to screen for patients with real problems that require further follow-up or treatment.
AGC can be used as an adjunctive test to increase the detection rate of lesions.
This test may not be performed for a sexual history of less than two years.
In other special cases, the doctor will choose the timing of the test at his discretion.
6. What should I do if I am positive for high-risk HPV?
Most HPV infections are transient, like a viral cold, and most people can get rid of the virus within two years after infection. About 5% of people will have persistent infection; a very small percentage of people can carry the virus for life. Only people with the same high-risk HPV infection lasting longer than two years will develop high-grade cervical lesions and cancer.
Therefore, it is important to visit a hospital for cervical cytology screening and colposcopy after being found positive for high-risk HPV. As long as it does not cause abnormal cervical cytology and histomorphology, there can be no need to worry.
7. Can HPV be cured?
There is no specific treatment for the virus. The clearance of the virus depends entirely on the individual’s own immunity. Other medications are used to enhance the immunity of the body. HPV infection is the equivalent of having a cold in the cervix, except that it takes 1-2 years to clear the virus instead of 7 days. Therefore, our goal is to “treat the disease but not the virus”, that is, only when HPV infection causes cervical lesions or other visible and detectable abnormalities, we treat the symptoms.