How HPV is transmitted and the methods of infection

About 80% of the world's population is infected with the human papilloma virus. Because HPV infection can cause not only harmless papillomas on the body, but also genital warts, as well as growths that can malignantly degenerate, it is very important to know how HPV is transmitted. Maybe this knowledge will help someone avoid infection and protect themselves from such dangerous diseases as uterine cancer, vulva, vagina, anal passage, penis and even breast. In this article, we will tell you about HPV: how it is transmitted, risk factors and preventive measures.

How is the human papilloma virus transmitted?

First, it should be said that papilloma is transmitted through the epidermis and saliva. At the same time, for some time the infection may not be felt and manifested by the formation of genital warts and papillomas only with a decrease in immunity.

If we talk about how to transmit the papilloma virus, then the likelihood of infection increases significantly if there are injuries, scratches and scuffs on the skin.

Attention!Many people wonder if a papilloma is hereditary. The answer is no. Only when one of the family members becomes infected, the papilloma virus is transmitted in everyday life or from mother to baby during birth.

The following ways of transmitting a viral infection from person to person are known:

1. It is transmitted through everyday life, that is, by touch, with ordinary household items, clothes. The infection can be transmitted by kissing.
2. If a person has genital papillomas, the transmission could have been sexual, ie during unprotected sex.
3. Self-infection is possible during shaving, epilation and other skin damage. Because the papilloma is contagious to surrounding healthy skin cells, a person can transmit the virus on their own from diseased parts of the body to healthy ones.
4. The vertical route of infection is the transmission of infection from mother to child during birth.
5. Much less often infection occurs during blood transfusion, during surgical removal of neoplasms caused by HPV. Also, the infection is not excluded in beauty salons, manicure rooms, baths, saunas and swimming pools, where the rules of asepsis are ignored.

If we are talking about how you can get papillomas, then in 70% of cases the sexual infection is the culprit of a man. In the presence of an epithelial neoplasm on the lips or genitals, the probability of infection is almost 90%. It should also be borne in mind that the presence of a condom, although it reduces the risk of infection, still does not guarantee 100% protection, as HPV can penetrate through microtrauma on the skin of the hands and other parts of the body. Moreover, condyloma can be localized in the groin or pubic area, where the condom will not protect from direct contact with a partner.

Important!If one of the partners is a carrier of the virus, but does not have a papilloma, wart or genital wart, the risk of infection of the other partner is significantly reduced.

If you list all the ways you can get the papilloma virus in a newborn, then infection during the prenatal period is unlikely because the virus does not enter the bloodstream and the fetus is reliably protected by amniotic fluid, bladder and placenta. However, in medical practice, rare cases of intrauterine infection with damage to the placenta and fetal bladder have been reported.

For women who are planning a pregnancy, it is very important to know if the baby's father is contagious and if he can pass the infection on to the mother-to-be, because genital warts that appear during pregnancy are very dangerous for the baby. In the case of infection of the child during childbirth, laryngeal papillomatosis and consequent suffocation are threatened. Since the infection is transmitted by saliva, it is important to consider the presence of papillomas, genital warts and warts in the mouth of a man and on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, because a woman can become infected through oral sex.

If a family member has a papilloma, as it is transmitted in everyday life, it is important that all members of the household know:

• Through shared bedding, towels, soap, cosmetics, cloths and other personal items, the virus can penetrate the microtrauma of the skin;
• saliva infection is possible when using a single toothbrush, glasses or other accessories;
Infection with clothing and other household items is also possible.

Risk factors

We have discovered how you can be infected with the human papilloma virus, but it is equally important to know not only the modes of transmission, but also the risk factors for papilloma virus infection.

Thus, the human papilloma virus penetrates the skin and mucous membranes much more easily against the background of the following provoking factors:

1. In men, children and women, the infection is most likely in the background of reduced immunity. A cold or sore throat can contribute to this.

2. The risk of HPV infection increases when the intestinal or vaginal microflora is disturbed. In the first case, the general immunity suffers, in the second the local defense of the body decreases, and the probability of sexually transmitted disease increases.
3. The genital tract infection more often becomes the cause of infection in the background of other sexually transmitted diseases (syphilis, gonorrhea, trichomoniasis).
4. Any mode of transmission can be potentially dangerous for a person in the background of worsening chronic disease, when the body is weakened by the disease.
5. There is no doubt that papillomas are contagious. The virus can easily penetrate from a host into the cells of a healthy person if its defenses are weakened by stress, loss of energy, overwork, or depression.

Important!Any virus is more easily transmitted to men and women who have bad habits (smoking, alcohol). The risk of infection is also significantly increased in women who take combined contraceptives.

The following conditions and diseases are predisposed to factors for sexual transmission of the virus:

• earlier onset of sexual activity;
• prostitution;
• frequent change of sexual partners;
• promiscuous sex life;
• history of sexually transmitted diseases;
• age is over 35 years;
• pathology of the cervix;
• immunodeficiency states.

Prevention

We found out how the human papilloma virus (women, men and children) is transmitted, and now it remains to consider prevention measures. It should be said right away that the most effective way not to get infected is preventive vaccination. To date, two types of vaccines for this infection are known. They protect against the most dangerous oncogenic strains of viral infection. However, the high efficacy of such protection is observed only when vaccinated at an early age, before sexual intercourse, or before infection with some of the HPV strains.

As for other prevention methods, no one has canceled hygiene rules, condom use, picky sex life and rejection of bad habits. It is useful to maintain the strength of the immune system: eat right, temper, exercise, walk in the fresh air, drink vitamins occasionally.