Human Papillomavirus and Genital Warts
Transmission and Symptoms
Transmission
Genital warts are very contagious. You can get them during oral, vaginal, or anal sex with an infected partner.
You can also get them by skin-to-skin contact during vaginal, anal, or (rarely) oral sex with someone who is infected.
About two-thirds of people who have sexual contact with a partner with genital warts will develop warts, usually within 3 months of contact.
If you are infected but have no symptoms, you can still spread HPV to your sexual partner and/or develop complications from the virus.
Symptoms
In women, genital warts occur on the outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening to the uterus (cervix), or around the anus.
In men, genital warts are less common. If present, they usually are seen on the tip of the penis.
They also may be found on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus.
Rarely, genital warts also can develop in your mouth or throat if you have oral sex with an infected person.
Like many sexually transmitted diseases, genital HPV infections often do not have signs and symptoms that you can see or feel.
One study sponsored by NIAID reported that almost half of women infected with HPV had no obvious symptoms.
If you are infected but have no symptoms, you can still spread HPV to your sexual partner and/or develop complications from the virus.
Source
National Institute of Allergy and Infections Diseases
http://www.niaid.nih.gov/topics/genitalwarts/Pages/default.aspx
GeoSalud, January 23, 2014
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