Genital warts and anogenital papillomavirus disease

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is an ancient stable DNA virus, which has evolved over millennia to be able to cause a variety of niche-specific cutaneous and mucosal infections and diseases, including squamous carcinoma and its precursor lesions. There are a wide variety of HPVs which are widely distributed in the human population. Anogenital infection by HPV is very frequent; it is usually sexually transmitted, and is often subclinical. There are many different genotypes of HPV which can cause genital infection, and these HPV types can be classified both phenotypically and genotypically as either being associated with a low risk of cancer (LR HPV), or a higher risk of cancer (HR HPV). Prophylactic vaccines against HPV have recently been developed, and population-based vaccination programmes offer the prospect of significant control of HPV disease in the future.