ABSTRACT
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a member of the Papillomaviridae family of viruses, which are so far implicated for causing epithelial warts, mostly benign in nature. The first visualization of papillomavirus particles in human warts by electron microscopy was reported in 1949. Papillomaviruses are essentially species specific with a predilection for the site of infection. In 1978, Stefania Ginsburg-Jablonska, a Polish physician and dermatologist at the Pasteur Institute, was the first scientist to discover the association between HPV and skin cancer. HPVs infect birds and mammals alike, though they preferentially infect either human skin or mucosa. HPVs have been designated as high-risk and low-risk, based on whether the HPV-mediated lesions are linked to risk for malignancy. Genital HPV infection is primarily a sexually transmitted infection. Genital HPV infection in sexually active young women is extremely common with a cumulative prevalence of 60%–80%.
