How much do you know about human papillomavirus?

Human papillomavirus is divided into four types: low-risk skin type, high-risk skin type, mucosal low-risk type, and mucosal high-risk type. The infection rate is very common. It can be transmitted in daily life through sex, close contact, indirect contact, medical infection, and mother-to-child transmission. Therefore, people should understand these transmission routes, always pay attention to their own health and safety and those around them, and avoid infection with human papillomavirus.

1. Introduction to the pathogen

More than 130 types of human papillomavirus (HPV) have been isolated. Different types cause different clinical manifestations. According to the different tissue sites invaded, they can be divided into:

(1) Low-risk skin types: including HPV1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, 15, etc., which are associated with common warts, flat warts, plantar warts, etc.;

(2) High-risk skin types: including HPV5, 8, 14, 17, 20, 36, 38, which are associated with epidermodysplasia verruciformis. Other malignant tumors that may be associated with HPV infection include: vulvar cancer, penile cancer, anal cancer, prostate cancer, and bladder cancer.

(3) Low-risk mucosal types such as HPV-6, 11, 13, 32, 34, 40, 42, 43, 44, 53, 54, etc., which infect the genital, anal, oropharyngeal, and esophageal mucosa;

(4) Mucosal high-risk HPV-16, 18, 30, 31, 33, 35, 39 and cervical cancer, rectal cancer, oral cancer, tonsil cancer, etc.

Biological activity: HPV is highly resistant and can withstand drying and long-term storage. It can be inactivated by heating or formalin treatment, so it can be inactivated by high-temperature disinfection and 2% glutaraldehyde disinfection.

2. Epidemiology

The infection rate of skin-type HPV is very common in the population, such as the common common warts, toe warts, flat warts, etc. The specific infection rate cannot be obtained. What attracts more attention is the genital warts and cervical cancer caused by high-risk HPV infection and low-risk HPV infection of the external genitalia. According to statistics, among sexually transmitted diseases in the world, genital warts caused by HPV infection account for 15-20%.

Regarding the prevalence of HPV infection in the female reproductive tract, according to a survey from the National Health and Nutrition Research Project in the United States in 2003-2004, the overall HPV infection rate for those aged 14-59 was 26.8%, so the burden of HPV infection on women exceeds previous estimates. There have been no large-sample reports on epidemiological screening for HPV infection in my country, but the incidence of genital warts among sexually transmitted diseases caused by HPV infection is increasing rapidly. It is estimated that the incidence rate should be the highest among sexually transmitted diseases because of a large number of underreporting and non-reporting. There are about 131,500 new cases of cervical cancer in my country every year. The incidence and mortality rates reported are on the rise, and the age of cervical cancer patients is getting younger. It is foreseeable that the huge losses caused by HPV infection in my country will be huge.

3. Infection route

1. Sexual transmission;

2. Close contact;

3. Indirect contact: through contact with the infected person’s clothing, daily necessities, utensils, etc.;

4. Nosocomial infection: Medical staff fail to provide adequate protection during treatment and care, resulting in self-infection or transmission of the infection to patients through medical staff;

5. Mother-to-child transmission: It is transmitted through close contact between the baby and the pregnant woman’s birth canal.