“HPV Sexually Transmitted Infections are Widespread”
According to the CDC, human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States. HPV is a different virus than herpes. HPV is so common that most sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives. Anyone who is sexually active can get HPV, even if you have had sex with only one person. You also can develop symptoms years after you have sex with someone who is infected, making it hard to know when you first became infected. There are many different types of HPV and some types can cause health problems including genital warts and cancers. But, there are vaccines that can reportedly stop these health problems from happening. Health officials are now saying about 45% of Americans ages 18 to 59 had some form of genital human papillomavirus. More concerning, about 25% of men and 20% of women had certain strains that carry a higher risk of cancer. There are more than 150 HPV viruses. Most important, the types of HPV that can cause genital warts are not the same as the types of HPV that can cause cancers. Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps in the genital area.
