HPV infections are transmitted through contact with infected genital skin or mucosal surfaces/secretions. Genital ulcer diseases and HPV infection can occur in male or female genital areas that are covered (protected by the condom) as well as those areas that are not.
Use condoms and/or dental dams every time you have vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Though condoms and dental dams are not as effective against HPV as they are against other STDs like chlamydia and HIV, safer sex can lower your chances of getting HPV.
Sexual behavior has long been linked to cervical cancer risk including high number of sex partners, prostitution, and risky sexual behavior of male partners. However, the efficiency of HPV transmission per sexual act has ranged from 5% to 100%.
HPV is very common. It is estimated that up to 80% of people in Australia have HPV at some time in their lives. Many people who have HPV have no idea that they have been exposed to the infection.
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.
Consistent condom use can protect women from HPV infection. Avoid direct contact. The surest way to prevent genital HPV infection is to refrain from any genital contact with another person.
While sexual intercourse is the primary means of transmission, genital-to-genital interactions, oral-to-genital interactions, or deep (French) kissing can also spread the virus.
Oral HPV is mostly transmitted by oral sex and mouth-to-mouth contact. Someone with HPV carries the virus in their saliva and mucus. It can spread if that saliva or mucus comes into contact with an open sore or cut in their partner's mouth.
Often, HPV warts will appear three to six months after sexual relations with an infected person; or they may take months to appear; or they may never appear. Likewise, the interval between an infection with HPV and a cervical smear abnormality can vary from months to decades.
The HPV test is available only to women; no HPV test yet exists to detect the virus in men. However, men can be infected with HPV and pass the virus to their sex partners.
Is HPV Contagious Forever? Most cases of HPV clear up on their own after one to two years, and you'll no longer be contagious once it leaves your system. However, the virus can remain dormant for years, and some people experience infections that stick around for much longer.
Most sexually active couples share HPV until the immune response suppresses the infection. Partners who are sexually intimate only with each other are not likely to pass the same virus back and forth.
Previous research suggests that a key concern among individuals with other STIs, such as herpes and chlamydia, is telling a sexual partner. Unlike other STIs, there is no treatment for HPV, so it is not necessary to disclose HPV to current or previous sexual partners.
Most men who get HPV never have symptoms. The infection usually goes away by itself. But, if HPV does not go away, it can cause genital warts or certain kinds of cancer. Talk to your healthcare provider about anything new or unusual on your penis, scrotum, anus, mouth, or throat.
Around 90% of HPV infections clear within 2 years. For a small number of women and people with a cervix, their immune system will not be able to get rid of HPV. This is called a persistent infection. A persistent HPV infection causes the cells of the cervix to change.
In theory, if you and your partner have been infected with one type of HPV, you should now be immune to that type. This means you should not get it again. However, studies have shown that natural immunity to HPV is poor and you can be reinfected with the same HPV type.
This means that when the immune system “clears” the infection, it is no longer present, so it cannot be spread to someone else. However, what is important to understand is that many people have HPV infections without symptoms, so they do not realize they are infected.
Most strains of HPV go away permanently without treatment. Because of this, it isn't uncommon to contract and clear the virus completely without ever knowing that you had it. HPV doesn't always cause symptoms, so the only way to be sure of your status is through regular testing. HPV screening for men isn't available.
While men can be infected with HPV, there are no approved tests available for men. However, your doctor may do an anal pap test if have had anal sex. Your doctor will be able to diagnose low-risk HPV and cutaneous HPV through a physical or visual exam.
Can HPV be passed between a man and a woman? Yes, men can catch HPV from women. The virus can be passed on between sexual partners of any gender.
Treatments for HPV Infection in Men
The patient can apply prescription creams at home. Or a doctor can surgically remove or freeze off the warts. Early treatment of warts is discouraged by some doctors because genital warts can go away on their own. It can also take time for all warts to appear.
No screening test is 100% effective
an HPV infection or abnormal cells can sometimes be missed (a 'false negative' result) abnormal cells can develop and turn into cancer in between screening tests.
Incubation period
2 to 3 months, with a range of 1 to 20 months for genital warts. It can take up to 10 years for a high-risk HPV infection to develop into cancer.
This is because it is difficult to get a good cell sample to test from the thick skin on the penis. Most people will not have visible symptoms if they are exposed to HPV. Therefore, for most, the virus is subclinical (invisible). This is especially true for males.