How Many HPV Strains Are There?

Many people do not know that cervical cancer in women is caused by a viral infection called HPV. This virus also causes genital warts in humans. How is this possible? Well the virus has many strains and it can adapt quickly to it's host as well.

In the past ten years scientists have discovered numerous different strains of the HPV causing viruses. There are, for example, strains 16 and 18 of the Human Papilloma Virus that cause cervical cancer in later life. Then there are strains 6 and 11 of HPV as well, and they are directly responsible for the nasty affliction called genital warts.

Warts can of course be treated effectively, although the HPV virus can never be eradicated from your system. And even more fortunate is the fact that a dual action vaccine called Gardasil can now be given to all 12-13 year old girls to prevent all four strains of HPV.

In case you were in the dark, STD stands for sexually transmitted disease, and these types of infections are extremely common in adults of all ages all over the world. We all know that the worlds most favourite activity for young adults is to be sexually active and this of course causes major problems for medical science.

Infections by bacteria and viruses are the causes of many STDs all over the world. In past centuries syphilis was the most common STD and it was caused by a bacterial spirochete. Then gonorrhoea came along and is still very prevalent today. It’s causative agent is a bacteria called N.gonorrhoea. Next on the list is genital herpes which cause an outbreak of tiny blisters and are caused by the Herpes simplex virus.

And the most common STD today is an infection called genital warts. The warts can be treated but the virus that causes them, also known as HPV, cannot be cured. There is however a vaccine that can prevent HPV infection these days.

Warts have plagued humans for centuries. In fact, warts are often seen in stories and fairytales as being a sickness of ugly and horrible people. It’s not surprising really if you consider how horrible they can look when you let them get out of control. But these days the problem can be solved.

Medical science has once again come to the rescue. Clever researchers started by isolating the cause of warts. They pinpointed a virus as the cause, which was a bit of a surprise. But this is a slow growing virus that sets to work after entering your system. It produces fleshy little growths on your skin that can turn into ugly cauliflower like growths if they are not treated. And the end result was that a very effective vaccine was developed to prevent this disease.

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