[Question #8978] HPV Vacinne at preventing auto inoculation and re infection.
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39 months ago
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Hello,
After dealing with some genital warts, I received my first shot of the vaccine in February and my second in April. I would assume that, although it is said to not benefit current infections, that it will be able to successfully prevent new infections but also re infections either through auto inoculation or sexual contact. Is this correct?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
39 months ago
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Welcome to our Forum and thanks for your question. Your summary statement is correct. For you the primary benefit of having received the HPV vaccine will be protection against future infections caused by different HPV types.. While the data are less definitive, it appears that the vaccine may also somewhat enhance the response to therapy and/or reduce the likelihood of recurrence of any existing HPV infections.
Auto-inoculation is a very, very rare complication of HPV although infections may be spread if someone shaves over a wart or otherwise vigorously and somewhat traumatically inoculates themselves. Auto-inoculation is not something for most person with HPV to worry about. I hope this information is helpful. EWH
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39 months ago
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Thank you for the reply. Just to confirm -- I shouldn't need to worry about touching a wart (or something I suspect to be a wart) with my finger, then touching the genital area in a different spot and spreading/inoculating myself with that HPV strain? And in the rare occurrence, the vaccine should be able to prevent that spread of a previous HPV type infection to a new area?
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Edward W. Hook M.D.
38 months ago
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Correct on both accounts. Autoinoculation in the manner you describe is virtually unheard of and even if there were a risk, the vaccine would be highly protective. EWH---