WART VIRUS
The warts people get on their bottoms belong to the same family as the warts I avoided as a child. There are at least fifty different sub-types of the ‘human papilloma virus’ or HPV, the virus responsible for making warts. Some of these sub-types like the genital region, and tend to be found there, rather than on other parts of the body. Other sub-types never affect the genital region.
Infection with wart virus is common; it is thought that most sexually active adults will be in contact with a genital sub-type of wart virus at some time. Many of these people will never have a visible wart in their genital area, but will have antibodies in their blood-stream if tested (but this is usually only done in the course of research). Sexual transmission of the genital sub-types is common, although it is not the only mode of transmission. It is possible for the virus to be passed by other contact, like touching, or from mother to child. Non-sexual spread is confirmed by the presence of the virus in virgins and children. Scientists are still trying to find out more about how this bug is spread.
The wart virus has been responsible for more than simply nuisance value. Not only are they yucky things to have growing on your bottom, but a link has been found between wart virus infection of the cervix and the development of abnormal pap smears.
Women who have been in contact with the genital sub-types of the wart virus may develop warts which are visible, or they may not. They may develop changes on their cervix (not usually anything that looks like a wart) which, when looked at under magnification can be identified as wart virus change in the cervical cells. These changes may come and go, just as warts on the skin may spontaneously disappear, and maybe come back later. A couple of the subtypes of the virus have been found to be associated with other cervical cell changes, namely pre-cancerous changes. It is not certain how the two are related, or whether the virus actually causes the precancerous change. It may be that wart virus effects plus some other factor makes cancer more likely to develop. It is not yet clear what the relationship is, but it is a significant finding, and in many ways we are lucky to know about it.
Women who have regular pap smears can have the cells of their cervix examined for any evidence of these changes. If any pre-cancerous changes are found, action can be taken to identify and treat the problem, before it develops into cancer. That is the basis of routine pap smear screening.
If you have actually had any genital warts, or your sexual partner has, it is wise to make sure you have a pap smear at least once every twelve months, until there have been at least two negative smears a year apart, then routine two-yearly smears may be recommenced. If wart virus change has actually been identified on any of your pap smears, you should time your smears according to the recommendations of the pathologist who reported it and your doctor. Women should be guided individually by the recommendations of their own doctors, but it is important that regular smears are done.
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