Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a virus from the papillomavirus family that is capable of infecting humans. Like all papillomaviruses, HPVs establish productive infections only in keratinocytes of the skin or mucous membranes. While the majority of the known types of HPV cause no symptoms in most people, some types can cause warts (verrucae), while others can – in a minority of cases – lead to cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, oropharynx and anus. Recently, HPV has been linked with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. In addition, HPV 16 and 18 infections are strongly associated with an increased odds ratio of developing oropharyngeal (throat) cancer.
More than 30 to 40 types of HPV are typically transmitted through sexual contact and infect the anogenital region. Some sexually transmitted HPV types may cause genital warts. Persistent infection with "high-risk" HPV types — different from the ones that cause skin warts — may progress to precancerous lesions and invasive cancer.[4] HPV infection is a cause of nearly all cases of cervical cancer. However, most infections with these types do not cause disease.
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