Teens and young adults should be vaccinated too Everyone through age 26 years should get HPV vaccine if they were not fully vaccinated already. HPV vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years.
Because HPV acquisition generally occurs soon after first sexual activity, vaccine effectiveness will be lower in older age groups because of prior infections. Some previously exposed adults will have developed natural immunity already. Exposure to HPV decreases among older age groups.
You can get HPV by having vaginal, anal, or oral sex with someone who has the virus. It is most commonly spread during vaginal or anal sex. It also spreads through close skin-to-skin touching during sex. A person with HPV can pass the infection to someone even when they have no signs or symptoms.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the use of Gardasil 9 for males and females ages 9 to 45. If you're age 27 to 45, discuss with your doctor whether he or she recommends that you get the HPV vaccine.
If you're over 30, your body can still clear HPV, but it's less likely at this point. Your doctor may want to perform more testing, like a Pap (if you didn't get one with your HPV test) to see if you also have abnormal cervical cell changes in addition to a positive HPV test.
HPV vaccine is free under the National Immunisation Program for young people aged approximately 12 to 13. The vaccine is primarily provided through school immunisation programs. Adolescents who missed the HPV vaccination at 12 to 13 years of age can catch up for a free up to age 26.
People can be infected with HPV without having sexual intercourse. The likelihood of exposure increases with the number of partners a person has, and HPV will often spread early in a relationship as the person is newly exposed to the virus.
The most common are small, hard sores called warts, but not everyone who has HPV gets them. They may be raised, flat, or shaped like a cauliflower, and they can be different sizes. They can show up on your genital area or other places, depending on the type of the virus you have. These warts often go away on their own.
While HPV doesn't come back after clearing completely, it's difficult to know if an infection has actually been resolved or is simply dormant. Additionally, while you're unlikely to be reinfected with the exact same type of HPV, you can be infected with another strain.
Vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years. Some adults ages 27 through 45 years might decide to get the HPV vaccine based on discussion with their clinician, if they did not get adequately vaccinated when they were younger.
Over the years, researchers have learned more about when people should get the HPV vaccine. It was originally approved for females ages 9 through 26. Then the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended both females and males get vaccinated up to age 26. However, people can get vaccinated up to age 45.
HPV vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years. Some adults age 27 through 45 years who were not already vaccinated might choose to get HPV vaccine after speaking with their doctor about their risk for new HPV infections and possible benefits of vaccination for them.
“By the time you vaccinate individuals in their 30s and 40s, many have already been exposed to HPV, so the health benefit really decreases at these older ages,” she said. “It's also important to emphasize that cervical cancer screening remains an effective and cost-effective way to protect women from cervical cancer.”
The low vaccination rate in males has largely been attributed to the common perception that HPV affects only girls. This makes sense given that the vaccine was initially advertised as a means to prevent cervical cancer.
Most people with HPV — no matter what their gender is — don't have any symptoms. Sometimes HPV can cause warts on your penis or vulva and around your anus. Genital warts can cause irritation and discomfort, and you can pass the HPV that caused them to other people.
HPV can clear up naturally – as there is no cure for the underlying HPV infection, the only way to get rid of HPV is to wait for the immune system to clear the virus naturally.
Pap tests, sometimes called Pap smears, look for abnormal cells on your cervix that can possibly lead to cervical cancer. Pap tests find cell changes caused by high-risk HPV, but they don't test for HPV itself. After your doctor sends your Pap test to the lab, the results will come back as “normal” or “abnormal.”
HPV can stay in the body for 10-20 years. Finding out you have HPV doesn't mean you or your partner have been unfaithful. It's your decision whether or not to tell your partner you have HPV.
For 90 percent of women with HPV, the condition will clear up on its own within two years. Only a small number of women who have one of the HPV strains that cause cervical cancer will ever actually develop the disease.
A Western diet — which is typically high in saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and sodium — reportedly increases chronic inflammation and makes controlling HPV infections more challenging. Persistent HPV infection leads to the development of cervical cancer.
Part B also covers Human Papillomavirus (HPV) tests (as part of a Pap test) once every 5 years if you're age 30-65 without HPV symptoms.
Quadrivalent HPV vaccine
Gardasil® (Seqirus/Merck & Co Inc) is a quadrivalent VLP HPV vaccine (4vHPV; types 16, 18, 6 and 11) registered in Australia for use in females aged 9–45 years and in males aged 9–26 years.