[Question #11561] HPV latency
 |
13 months ago
|
Hello,
Recently I have been seeing a new partner. Prior to this I had abstained from sex for 1.5 years. Within 3 weeks of intercourse with my new partner, I noticed genital warts which I got biopsied to confirm. Is it possible to contract HPV from this partner who has no prior history of warts? What is the likelihood of catching the infection from a partner with no symptoms vs having caught the infection years ago and it showing up now? Can warts even show up within 3 weeks of contact and is that more common or is it more common to have a longer latency period of 1 year+? Thank you.
 |
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
13 months ago
|
Welcome to the forum. I'll try to help.
It is generally believed that new warts do not appear sooner than 6 weeks to a couple of months after catching the causative strain of HPV. And onset can be delayed months or even years. There's no good research on this, and I can't say that 3 weeks is impossible, but I've never seen or previously heard of a case in which warts appeared that soon. So it seems most likely that this is simply bad luck and timing, that you had been infected before prior to your new partner.
That said, it certainly is possible for entirely asymptomatic persons -- i.e. no visible warts, no abnormal Pap smear, etc -- to have active HPV infection that can be sexually transmitted to partners. Is your partner female or male? Either way, I would advise them to see an experienced provider (gyn if female, perhaps a proctologist if male) for careful examination. If nothing is found, it doesn't mean s/he isn't infected, but would be a good baseline for future reevaluation.
Finally, presumably you have been professionally diagnosed -- i.e. not self diagnosed. And that you warts are in a directly exposed site, like your penis and not in the groin, scrotum, etc.
I hope these comments are helpful. Let me know if anything isn't clear, or perhaps comments in response to my own.
HHH, MD
--- |
13 months ago
|
I have been professionally diagnosed yes. We have been having unprotected sex presumably while I had the warts. The warts have since been removed. Is it safe to continue sex or is there still a chance I can infect him? My partner is male and I am female. It is puzzling that I have the warts in my anal area but I have never had anal sex so am unsure if warts will show up in areas of contact for him (scrotum, bottom of penis) or in the same area (perineum) for him too. Also, if my HPV took that long to show symptoms, will his infection also take that long to show symptoms? Also, is there a chance he might not get warts? This would not be HPV type 6/11 since I am vaccinated (10 years ago, maybe it lost efficiency). Can I get gardasil 9 now after having gardasil 4 ten years ago when I was 16?
|
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
13 months ago
|
Interesting that your infection is anal. This isn't uncommon -- many straight men, with no anal sexual activity, get anal warts. Sometimes they are "accused" of not being truthful by physicians who don't understand the truth. Probably such anal warts result from auto-inoculation, i.e. toilet practices, finger contact, etc from an original genital infection that remains asymptomatic. In any case, this suggests even more strongly that you had the HPV (and perhaps the warts themselves) before your current sexual relationship began.
Also interesting that you've been vaccinated. You are correct, that this makes HPV 6/11 less likely. However, depending on when you were vaccinated and perhaps sexually active before then, conceivably you had HPV 6/11 before being immunized. But if indeed you were not sexually active before then, almost certainly you don't have 6/11. And yes, it is entirely safe to get Gardasil 9, for both its booster effect and to protect against the 5 additional HPV types not covered by Gardasil 4.
------
|
13 months ago
|
I got the first vaccine shot August 2013, the second vaccine shot November 2013 (both before sexual encounters) and the final shot May 2014 (one month after sexual encounter). Is it possible I got type 6/11 despite having had two shots already? Or is it more likely that these warts are a different strain?
|
13 months ago
|
In addition - I did get a pathology report from my biopsy which showed that these warts were nongenital. The nurses said the biopsy report showed I have common warts on my anal area (which is rare) but that’s what the biopsy showed histologically. Does that mean it’s more likely that the strain is not 6/11?
|
H. Hunter Handsfield, MD
13 months ago
|
This makes HPV 6/11 very unlikely. But the HPV type doesn't matter anyway: treatment and follow-up advice are the same.
I advise all patients with anal warts to consult with a proctologist, colon and rectal surgeon, or other provider with lots of experience managing anal warts and HPV. If not yet done, anoscopy (a look inside) usually is wise to check for internal warts. Discuss with your doctor if not yet done.
---That completes the two follow-up comments included with each question and so ends this thread. I hope the discussion has been helpful. Best wishes and stay safe.