ABSTRACT
Infections with human papillomaviruses (HPV) and associated social practices are noteworthy, even remarkable, in several regards. Here are some of them: With an infection rate of up to 80% of the world's population, virtually ‘all of us’—meaning sexually active humans—have it, or have already had it, or will have it perhaps again. There is not one single HPV strain, but more than 100 different genotypes and even more are still being discovered. About 30 of them affect anogenital tissues and are primarily transmitted by sexual contact (if not necessarily sexual intercourse), making HPV the proximate cause for the most common sexually transmitted infections. Most of these infections are transient and go unnoticed. When persistent, HPV may induce benign genital warts (low-risk HPVs, predominantly strains 6 and 11) and, above all, cervical and other anogenital and oropharyngeal cancers (in particular associated with the high-risk strains 16 and 18). Thus it appears that HPVs profoundly redefine these cancers, particularly cervical cancer, as infectious, sexually transmitted diseases.
