HPV Virus by Ray Sahelian, M.D.

Genital HPV infection is a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that is caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). HPV is the name of a group of viruses that includes more than 90 different strains or types. More than 30 of these viruses are sexually transmitted, and they can infect the genital area of men and women including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), or anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix, or rectum. Most people who become infected with HPV will not have any symptoms and will clear the infection on their own. Approximately 25 million people are currently infected with HPV. Just over one in four US women aged 14 through 59 are infected with the human HPV virus, but the strains of the virus linked to cervical cancer are found in fewer than one in 30 women.

Some of these viruses are called "high-risk" types, and may cause abnormal Pap tests. They may also lead to cancer of the cervix, vulva, vagina, anus, or penis. Others are called "low-risk" types, and they may cause mild Pap test abnormalities or genital warts. Certain types of HPVs, such as HPV-16, HPV-18, and HPV-31, have been recognized as causative agents of cervical cancer and anal cancer and their infections, which arise via sexual transmission, are associated with more than 95% of cervical cancer.

Natural course of the HPV virus infection
Young women commonly become infected with HPV soon after they start having sex. However, most of these HPV infections persist less than 3 years, and only a tiny minority of women develop pre-cancerous changes in their cervical cells. Still, in a small number of cases, persistent infection with cancer-related HPV strains may cause pre-cancerous cervical changes within just a few years. Sexually Transmitted Disease, July 2007.

Natural Treatment for HPV virus in Cervix
Perhaps the ingestion of green tea or EGCG, a green tea extract, could be helpful to fight the HPV virus.
Protective effects of green tea extracts (polyphenon E and EGCG) on human cervical lesions.
Eur J Cancer Prev. 2003 Oct;12(5):383-90. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
We investigated clinical efficacy of green tea extracts (polyphenon E; poly E and (-)-epigallocatechin-3-gallate [ EGCG ]) delivered in a form of ointment or capsule in patients with human papilloma virus (HPV) infected cervical lesions. Fifty-one patients with cervical lesions (chronic cervicitis, mild dysplasia, moderate dysplasia and severe dysplasia) were divided into four groups, as compared with 39 untreated patients as a control. Poly E ointment was applied locally to 27 patients twice a week. For oral delivery, a 200 mg of poly E or EGCG capsule was taken orally every day for eight to 12 weeks. In the study, 20 out of 27 patients (74%) under poly E ointment therapy showed a response. Six out of eight patients under poly E ointment plus poly E capsule therapy (75%) showed a response, and three out of six patients (50%) under poly E capsule therapy showed a response. Six out of 10 patients (60%) under EGCG capsule therapy showed a response. Overall, a 69% response rate (35/51) was noted for treatment with green tea extracts, as compared with a 10% response rate (4/39) in untreated controls (P<0.05). Thus, the data collected here demonstrated that green tea extracts in a form of ointment and capsule are effective for treating cervical lesions, suggesting that green tea extracts can be a potential therapy regimen for patients with HPV infected cervical lesions.

HPV and Warts

Papillomaviruses are a group of small non-enveloped DNA tumor viruses whose infection usually causes benign epithelial lesions (warts). The HPV virus infects keratinocytes in the basal layer of stratified squamous epithelia and replicates in the nucleus of infected keratinocytes in a differentiation-dependent manner.

How do people get genital HPV virus infections?
The types of HPV that infect the genital area are spread primarily through genital contact. Most HPV infections have no signs or symptoms; therefore, most infected persons are unaware they are infected, yet they can transmit the virus to a sex partner. Rarely, a pregnant woman can pass HPV to her baby during vaginal delivery. A baby that is exposed to HPV very rarely develops warts in the throat or voice box.
   The spermicide contraceptive nonoxynol-9 (N-9) may promote genital infection with human papillomavirus (HPV). The spermicide contraceptive nonoxynol-9 (N-9) sensitizes the genital tract to these infections.

Signs and symptoms of genital HPV
Most people who have a genital HPV infection do not know they are infected. The virus lives in the skin or mucous membranes and usually causes no symptoms. Some people get visible genital warts, or have pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, vulva, anus, or penis. Very rarely, HPV infection results in anal or genital cancers.
     Genital warts usually appear as soft, moist, pink, or flesh-colored swellings, usually in the genital area. They can be raised or flat, single or multiple, small or large, and sometimes cauliflower shaped. They can appear on the vulva, in or around the vagina or anus, on the cervix, and on the penis, scrotum, groin, or thigh. After sexual contact with an infected person, warts may appear within weeks or months, or not at all.

HPV in Men

Genital HPV infection, globally one of the most common sexually transmitted infections, is associated with cancers, genital warts, and other epithelial lesions. Although a consistent and coherent picture of the epidemiology and pathogenesis of genital HPV infections in women has developed over the past two decades, less is known about these infections in men. Available data suggest that, as with women, most genital HPV infections in men are symptomless and unapparent, and that HPV16 is probably the most frequently detected type. In populations of similar age, the prevalence of specific HPV types is usually lower in men than in women.

How is genital HPV infection diagnosed?
Most women are diagnosed with HPV on the basis of abnormal Pap tests. A Pap test is the primary cancer-screening tool for cervical cancer or pre-cancerous changes in the cervix, many of which are related to HPV. Also, a specific test is available to detect HPV DNA in women. The test may be used in women with mild Pap test abnormalities, or in women >30 years of age at the time of Pap testing. The results of HPV DNA testing can help health care providers decide if further tests or treatment are necessary.

HPV Treatment
There is no "cure" for HPV infection, although in most women the infection goes away on its own. The treatments provided are directed to the changes in the skin or mucous membrane caused by HPV infection, such as warts and pre-cancerous changes in the cervix.

Carrageenan and HPV virus

Carrageenan appears to be a potent inhibitor of human papilloma viruses -- particularly the types that cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

PAP test helps reduce HPV virus infection?
When a Papanicolaou smear is conducted, an inflammatory response occurs that may initiate clearance of human papillomavirus (HPV) by the immune system and thus reduce the risk of cervical cancer.

HPV infection and cervical cancer
Genital human papilloma virus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States, is associated with cervical cancer in women, and penile cancers in men. The infection is asymptomatic until a malignancy develops. Of the more than 90 subtypes, only a small number are associated with malignancies. Vaccines made with recombinant HPV proteins have been shown effective in preventing infection with the more virulent strains of the virus.
     All types of HPV can cause mild Pap test abnormalities which do not have serious consequences. Approximately 10 of the 30 identified genital HPV types can lead, in rare cases, to development of cervical cancer. Research has shown that for most women, cervical HPV infection becomes undetectable within two years. Although only a small proportion of women have persistent infection, persistent infection with "high-risk" types of HPV is the main risk factor for cervical cancer.
     A Pap test can detect pre-cancerous and cancerous cells on the cervix. Regular Pap testing and careful medical follow-up, with treatment if necessary, can help ensure that pre-cancerous changes in the cervix caused by HPV infection do not develop into life threatening cervical cancer. The Pap test used in U.S. cervical cancer screening programs is responsible for greatly reducing deaths from cervical cancer. For 2004, the American Cancer Society estimates that about 10,520 women will develop invasive cervical cancer and about 3,900 women will die from this disease. Most women who develop invasive cervical cancer have not had regular cervical cancer screening.
     In a study that followed more than 2,400 Brazilian women, researchers found that those who became infected with more than one type of human papillomavirus (HPV) were far more likely than women infected with one viral strain to develop pre-cancerous changes in the cervix. There are more than 100 types of HPV, some of which cause genital warts. Certain strains of genital HPV can cause abnormalities in the cervical tissue known as "high-grade" lesions, which can sometimes progress to cancer. The new findings suggest that women who become infected with multiple strains of HPV are at particular risk of developing these lesions.

How can people reduce their risk for genital HPV
The surest way to eliminate risk for genital HPV infection is to refrain from any genital contact with another individual. HPV infection can occur in both male and female genital areas that are covered or protected by a latex condom, as well as in areas that are not covered. Among newly sexually active women, consistent condom use by their partners appears to reduce the risk of cervical and vulvovaginal HPV infection.

What is human papillomavirus ( HPV )?
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus that can be passed on through genital contact or by skin-to-skin contact. At least 50 percent of people who have had sex will have HPV at some time in their lives. Most people don't have any signs of infection, and HPV may go away on its own. Both men and women may get the virus -- and pass it on -- without knowing it. There is no cure for the virus infection itself, but there are treatments for the health problems that HPV can cause such as genital warts, cervical changes, and cervical cancer. A recently approved vaccine called Gardasil creates resistance to four types of HPV but is not a treatment for an existing HPV infection.

HPV vaccine in Texas
May 2007 - Texas Gov. Rick Perry has backed down in his effort to require that pre-teen girls be vaccinated against HPV virus after the Texas state legislature overturned his order. The February 2007 order would have made Texas the first U.S. state to require that girls receive the Merck & Co. Inc.'s vaccine against human papillomavirus ( HPV ) so they can enroll in sixth grade, when most students are 11 or 12 years old.