What is HPV?

Transcript

Dr Ian Frazer AC: HPV is a virus, it’s a very common virus and many people catch it without ever knowing they’ve had it. There are actually very many sorts of HPV and only a few of them can cause disease, but the ones that can cause disease quite frequently do cause disease and then particularly can cause cancer and other serious complications.

Professor Andrew Grulich: HPV does cause genital warts and in a minority of people the infection doesn’t go away and goes on to cause one of a variety of cancers. The cancer that’s most commonly linked to HPV is cancer of the cervix in women which is one of the most common cancers in women globally. As well as cancer of the cervix it can cause other cancers of the genitals so of the vulva, the vagina in women and of the penis and anus in men. And in addition it can also cause cancer of the back of the throat.

Associate Professor Kristine Macartney: It’s very important to be vaccinated against HPV. Vaccination provides protection against infection with this virus and that prevents ultimately the formation of cancers in certain people.