HPV - the STI without symptoms

HPV, or human papillomavirus virus, causes unsightly warts in various parts of the body, especially around the genitals when it is more commonly known as genital warts. However, the types of HPV that cause warts to grow on hands and feet are not the same as those that form warts in the mouth or in the genital area.

Not all HPV viruses cause warts. Some are sub-clinical, which means the virus lives in the skin without any sign or symptom. This is why many people with HPV do not know they have it. Some forms of HPV can also cause cancers of the vulva in women, the penis in men and head, neck and anal cancers in men and women.

Evidence suggests that HPV is strongly implicated in cervical changes and the development of cervical cancer - the virus was present in 99.7 per cent of tumours taken from 1,000 women with the disease. A test for HPV that could be used to detect cervical cancer is not yet available on the NHS. Meanwhile, it is important for women to maintain regular cervical smear tests. The NHS cervical screening programme in the UK is offered to all women every three to five years, from the age of 25 to age 64.

Many women discover they are infected only after they've had a cervical smear test done, as the smear report includes any evidence of HPV infection. The presence of HPV on the smear may or may not be associated with abnormal cervical cells.