The Human Papillomavirus, also known as HPV, is a sexually transmitted virus. Over 80% of people will be infected by HPV at some point in their life.
There are around 200 types of HPV. There are types of HPV that are considered “low risk” because they are not known to cause cervical cancer. They can, however, cause genital warts or very minor cell changes on the cervix. HPV types 6 and 11 are the most common and are linked to about 90% of genital warts.
There are more than a dozen types of HPV that are considered “high risk” because that are linked to cervical cancer and cancer of the penis, anus, vulva and throat. Types 16 and 18 are responsible for causing about 70% of cervical cancers