Human Papillomavirus
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) refers to an entire group of over 100 different but related strains of virus, many of which are sexually transmittable. Infection can occur in any tissues of the genital area, mouth, or throat.
Most of the time there are no symptoms; sometimes small warts can be visible, as late as weeks or months following initial contact, and can be removed with medication.
Some HPV strains can cause cervical cancer and other kinds of more rare cancers of the genital and head/neck region. There are two vaccines against most strains of HPV: Cervarix and Gardasil. It is not always possible to tell if a sex partner has Human Papillomavirus and condoms are not fully protective.
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