What Is a Human Papillomavirus Infection?
4. How Is HPV Spread?
The majority of HPV cases are spread through sexual contact, particularly through vaginal, anal or oral sex. Sexual contact is not required, though. Any intimate skin-to-skin contact can pass the virus from an infected person to someone else.
The prevalence of HPV spread is likely due to the fact that many people don’t know they have it and thus spread it to partners without knowing it. Even if they eventually become symptomatic, it may take months or years to do so. This can make contact tracing very difficult.
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