[The epidemiology of genital human papillomavirus infections]

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) genital infections are the most frequent sexually transmitted infections. Their prevalence varies considerably with age and geographic area. The incidence of these infections is particularly high at the onset of the sexual activity. High-risk HPV type 16 is the most prevalent type, and in general, high-risk HPV are more frequent than low-risk HPV. The majority of genital HPV infections is asymptomatic, but can induce lesions in the genital tract: genital warts due to low-risk HPV; high-grade lesions due to high-risk HPV; cancers with a more or less important fraction, depending on the localization, due to high-risk HPV. In particular, high-risk HPV are responsible for almost all cervical carcinomas.