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.
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.
“HPV could've been there for years before it shows up, if it ever does,” says Ramondetta. When talking to your partner about your diagnosis, remember 80% of people will have HPV at some point in their life.
A person with HPV can pass the infection to someone even when they have no signs or symptoms. If you are sexually active, you can get HPV, even if you have had sex with only one person. You also can develop symptoms years after having sex with someone who has the infection.
A false-positive result could lead to unnecessary follow-up procedures, such as colposcopy or biopsy, and undue anxiety over the test results. False-negative. A false-negative test result means you really do have an HPV infection, but the test indicates that you don't.
Sometimes, after several negative HPV tests, a woman may have a positive HPV test result. This is not necessarily a sign of a new HPV infection. Sometimes an HPV infection can become active again after many years. Some other viruses behave this way.
Age 30-65 years
HPV test every 5 years. HPV/Pap cotest every 5 years. Pap test every 3 years.
Don't panic.
In most cases, your body is able to fight HPV on its own, and the virus will go away without causing any health problems in one or two years.
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.
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.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV is so common that at least half of sexually active men and women get it at some point in their lives.
About blood tests for HPV
There is no blood, urine, anal, or oral swab that can detect HPV. The only way to detect HPV is by viewing cell samples from the cervix under a microscope. This is because the virus passes through skin-to-skin contact and infects the skin and mucosal cells.
The most common reason for a negative Pap test with a positive HPV result is that the patient has an HPV infection, but the infection is not causing any cellular abnormalities. Cellular abnormalities caused by HPV can be quite focal on the cervix, while the HPV infection can be more widespread.
About 10% of women with HPV infection on their cervix will develop long-lasting HPV infections that put them at risk for cervical cancer. Similarly, when high-risk HPV lingers and infects the cells of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus, it can cause cell changes called precancers.
The HPV test looks for cervical infection by high-risk types of HPV that are more likely to cause pre-cancers and cancers of the cervix. The test can be done by itself or at the same time as the Pap test (called a co-test) (with the same swab or a second swab), to determine your risk of developing cervical cancer.
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.
What causes an abnormal Pap test? Most abnormal Pap tests are caused by HPV infections. Other types of infection—such as those caused by bacteria, yeast, or protozoa (Trichomonas)—sometimes lead to minor changes on a Pap test called atypical squamous cells.
The HPV test looks for the virus (human papillomavirus) that can cause cell changes on the cervix. The Pap test (or Pap smear) looks for precancers, cell changes on the cervix that might become cervical cancer if they are not treated appropriately.
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.
No screening test is 100% effective
an HPV infection or abnormal cells can sometimes be missed (a 'false negative' result)
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.
If you have high-risk HPV that sticks around or goes dormant and keeps coming back, that's when it becomes cancer causing (or what doctors call oncogenic). This means that it changes the cells of your cervix, penis, anus or mouth and leads to precancerous cells.
Pap Results Are Often Inaccurate
Sometimes these false positive Paps can be explained by a recent vaginal infection, or trauma to the cervix due to douching, tampons, or intercourse; sometimes the false positives just represent an inherent limitation of the test.
In fact, many women with HPV will never have an abnormal pap smear. That being said, routine screening with your provider is the only way to follow any changes to the cervix that could lead to cervical cancer.
What causes an abnormal Pap test? Most abnormal Pap tests are caused by HPV infections. Other types of infection—such as those caused by bacteria, yeast, or protozoa (Trichomonas)—sometimes lead to minor changes on a Pap test called atypical squamous cells.