Papillomavirus: what is it?

The Human Papilloma Viruses or HPV are very common viruses. There are more than 150 types: HPV1, 14, 16, 18, etc. Papillomaviruses can infect the skin and mucous membranes¹ and be responsible for benign or malignant lesions:

Human infection with HPVs is most often responsible for benign lesions such as:

• on the skin: common and plantar warts
• mucosal: condylomas, also called genital warts

However, HPVs can be associated with the occurrence of certain cancers:

• on the cutaneous level: the occurrence of skin cancer linked to epidermodysplasia verruciformis, a rare and genetic disease, due to HPV 5 and 8.
• mucosal: the occurrence of anogenital carcinomas, and in particular cervical cancer in the event of contamination by HPV 16 or 18.

Symptoms of Papillomavirus

HPV contamination is most often symptomless and their incubation can vary from several weeks to several years.

When HPVs are expressed, they can give:

On the cutaneous level

There are many types of warts like:

• Common wart : common on the elbows, knees, hands or toes, it resembles a hard and rough dome of flesh or whitish color.
• Plantar wart : located as its name indicates on the sole of the foot, it has the appearance of a whitish and hardened area. One distinguishes among the plantar warts, the myrmecium, often unique and punctuated by small black dots, and the mosaic wart, consisting of various coalescing whitish lesions.
• The flat warts. These are small patches of flesh-colored or discreetly brownish skin, common on the face.
• The verrucous papillomas. These are threadlike growths coming out of the skin and frequent on the beard.

On the mucosal level

Condylomas usually form small growths of a few millimeters reminiscent of the texture of skin warts. Sometimes condylomas just form small pink or brownish growths that are harder to see.

It can also be condyloma that is almost invisible to the naked eye. In women, symptoms may only be genital bleeding or itching.

People at risk of papillomavirus

People with an immune deficiency (treatment with cortisone or other immunosuppressants, HIV / AIDS, etc.) are more susceptible to HPV contamination.

On the skin level, the people at risk are children and young adults, especially if they go to sports halls or swimming pools. There is also a type of HPV transmitted by animals, HPV 7. It is common on the hands of butchers, renderers or veterinarians.

On the genital level, HPV concerns people who are sexually active and in particular, those who have several partners and who do not use a condom.

Risk factors

Small skin wounds are entry points for viruses into the skin (scratches or cuts) and therefore represent a risk factor for contamination.

Infection with another STI (genital herpes, VIH / PAGE, etc.) is a risk factor for HPV contamination. Indeed, there may be genital lesions constituting entry points into the mucous membranes.