What is an HPV test?
HPV stands for human papillomavirus. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD), with millions of Americans currently infected. HPV can infect both men and women. Most people with HPV don't know they have it and never get any symptoms or health problems.
There are many different types of HPV. Some types do cause health problems. HPV infections are usually grouped as low-risk or high-risk HPV.
Low-Risk HPV can cause warts on the anus and genital area, and sometimes the mouth. Other low-risk HPV infections can cause warts on arms, hands, feet, or chest. HPV warts do not cause serious health problems. They may go away on their own, or a health care provider may remove them in a minor in-office procedure.
High-Risk HPV. Most high-risk HPV infections do not cause any symptoms and will go away within a year or two. But some high-risk HPV infections can last for years. These long-lasting infections can lead to cancer. HPV is the cause of most cervical cancers. Long-lasting HPV may also cause other cancers, including those of the anus, vagina, penis, mouth, and throat.
An HPV test looks for high-risk HPV in women. Health care providers can usually diagnose low-risk HPV by visually examining the warts. So no testing is needed. While men can be infected with HPV, there is no test available for men. Most men with HPV recover from the infection without any symptoms.
Other names: genital human papillomavirus, high risk HPV, HPV DNA, HPV RNA
