WARTS, GENITAL

Warts confined primarily to the moist skin of the genitals due to viruses belonging to the family of human papilloma viruses (HPVs) transmitted through sexual contact. Most infected people have no symptoms but these viruses increase a woman’s risk for cancer of the cervix. The virus can also be transmitted from mother to baby during childbirth. HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. It is also the leading cause of abnormal PAP smears and pre-cancerous changes of the cervix in women. There is no cure for genital warts virus infection. Once contracted, the virus can stay with a person for life.