All About Genital Warts

Although sexually transmitted human papillomavirus—the cause of genital warts—is not a disease that doctors must report to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is believed, on the basis of epidemiological studies, that there are about 500,000 to 1 million new cases every year. More than 100 types of human papillomavirus (HPV) have been identified in humans, and researchers expect the final number to be around 200.

At any given time, about 20 million people in the United States have genital human papillomavirus infections that are transmittable, and about 1 to 2 million more individuals are infected each year. There are more than 100 known types, varying in affinity for the genital tract (about 35 types), clinical expression, and oncogenic potential.

Widely noted as the most common sexually transmitted disease in young people who are sexually active, human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause genital warts (a type of HPV that is often easy to treat), or it can result in subclinical infections that cannot be cured but are often cleared spontaneously by the body’s immune system.

In 2001, chlamydia was the most reported bacterial infection in the United States and the most common bacterial (curable) sexually transmitted disease. Health care experts estimate that 4 million new cases of chlamydia occur in the United States every year, and almost half of these new cases occur in people below the age of 19.

Gonorrhea is a big problem in the United States. According to a report released December 5, 2000, although rates of STDs are declining in the United States, gonorrhea remains very troublesome.

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