Condoms and HPV

[Corny]

I don't know anyone but yes there are definitely people out there who got it while using condoms.
Condoms greatly DO reduce the risk though, but HPV is transmitted by skin to skin contact. So you could for example get it from fingering or jacking the guy and then touching your own penis .. for example when putting the condom on

 

[KaraBulut]

There's been so much focus on HIV that other STDs like HPV have not been studied as much as they should. We know that HPV is transmitted via skin-to-skin contact but we don't have a lot of studies about the transmissibility of HPV.

Ten years ago, we believed that anogenital warts were just another virus and that burning the wart off the skin was enough to resolve the problem. However, recent studies have shown that HPV is a family of viruses and that each virus has a different set of complications. And there seems to be a predisposition where some people are more susceptible to HPV and there is evidence that some people are more likely to be become asymptomatic carriers of the virus.

Some of the new research about oral cancers caused by HPV transmitted through oral sex. Now that there are some new HPV immunizations coming on the market, there will be an increase in the research on HPV and how it is transmitted.

 

[Corny]

And even if the existent vaccines are effective at all is quite unclear. Scientist are finding a lot of weaknesses and errors in the studies, a german group just came to the result that there is so much unclear stuff around the company, the vaccine and the studies that the recommendation for HPV vaccination should be stopped immediately. Paper only in german .. sorry

@Kara: from what I have read it can be "cured" by burning of the warts - you just need to "get" all the tissue which carries the virus. Chances are not too big though that this happens. But maybe that was outdated info, many health websites are not always on the bleeding edge

 

[KaraBulut]

And even if the existent vaccines are effective at all is quite unclear. Scientist are finding a lot of weaknesses and errors in the studies, a german group just came to the result that there is so much unclear stuff around the company, the vaccine and the studies that the recommendation for HPV vaccination should be stopped immediately. Paper only in german .. sorry

The only HPV immunization available in the US at the moment is Gardasil. It is a series of 3 injections administered over 6 months. It is only effective against types 6,11, 16,18. It's only approved for young girls age 9 or older.

There's no immunization available in the US for men. There are some new trials underway for new vaccines that cover different types.

I will probaby try to run a online translator against the article (I don't speak enough German to attempt to do it myself).

@Kara: from what I have read it can be "cured" by burning of the warts - you just need to "get" all the tissue which carries the virus. Chances are not too big though that this happens. But maybe that was outdated info, many health websites are not always on the bleeding edge

The treatment for genital warts is very much "what we don't know won't hurt us". In the US they used to send samples to the lab and use chemotherapy in addition to cryotherapy or laser treatment. Now, the accepted practice is to "burn 'em off" and hope for the best. The latest guidelines from about 3-4 years ago have a statement to the effect that this is believed to reduce infectivity but is not believed to reduce risk of subsequent cancers.

 

[Corny]

Hmm but wasn't HPV like the virus that 50% of males encounter at least once during their lifetime? Or am I mixing this with herpes here? Although for genital herpes this also seems high. And what about those immune system creams and injections? Or are they just curing the symptoms, too?

 

[KaraBulut]

Hmm but wasn't HPV like the virus that 50% of males encounter at least once during their lifetime? Or am I missing this with herpes here? Although for genital herpes this also seems high. And what about those immune system creams and injections? Or are they just curing the symptoms, too?

To be honest, I've been very frustrated with the discussions around HPV at conferences that I've attended lately. The discussions usually focus on women and cervical cancer and the controversy around immunization of teenage girls and sexually active women.

There's been an evolution on the treatment. It reminds me of chickenpox. In the old days, the attitude was that it's better to get chickenpox when you're young because it is usually harmless and most children get it. The attitude didn't change until research showed that shingles wasn't adult chickenpox- it was a sequelae to childhood infection where the virus was dormant until a later event reactivated it.

Because there are so many known types of HPV (over 100 different types have been identified) and most of us are exposed to them in our lifetime, there has been a very casual approach to warts. And from the practitioner's perspective, there is no difference between a wart on the finger and a wart on the genitals- they are all just warts. The focus on treatment has been ablative treatments- to remove the wart- which usually gets rid of the visible signs of infection.

The turning point has been the expansion of our understanding the sequelae of HPV infection in the anogenital area. Where we once looked at these infections as "just another wart", we are beginning to understand that certain types of HPV can cause cancers of the mouth, rectum and cervix. And so now the focus is changing from removal of the wart to a more prophylactic approach.

Prophylaxis includes behavioral changes and development of immunizations that cover the HPV types most associated with cancers.

 

[KaraBulut]

Update:

Effective Dec-2010, the FDA approved the HPV immunization for men. I added the bolding.

We have approved your request to supplement your biologics license application for Human Papillomavirus Quadrivalent (Types 6, 11, 16, 18 ) Vaccine, Recombinant, GARDASIL®, to include the prevention of anal intraepithelial neoplasia (AIN) grades 1, 2, and 3 caused by HPV types included in the vaccine, in males and females 9 through 26 years of age, and the prevention of anal cancer caused by HPV types 16 and 18 in males and females 9 through 26 years of age.

The full text of the approval can be found here.