Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world today. It is very likely that a person will have HPV in their life but will not have any signs or symptoms.
HPV is considered the leading cause of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). There are many different types of HPV virus. Not all of them cause serious illness. Some strains of the virus only cause genital and anal acne. Some dangerous strains can enter and cause disease inside the genitals and become the cause of cancers in the cervix, anus and other genitals.
Therefore, depending on the strain of the virus that causes the disease, it is possible to contract the virus without any signs or symptoms, and it can also lead to incurable diseases such as cervical cancer.
Scientists have identified more than 100 different strains of HPV. Most of them are harmless, show no symptoms, and clear up on their own without treatment.
There are more than 40 strains of HPV that can cause genital and anal infections. Of these, 15 are high-risk HPV strains (strains 16 and 18), which can cause cancers ranging from cancers of the cervix to the anus and other genitals.
Using Real-time PCR-based kits has significant advantages over traditional Pap smears: