Genital warts, also known as condyloma acuminatum, anogenital warts, and venereal warts, are characterized by papillary benign hyperplasia in the genitals, perineum, anus, and other parts of the body.
The incubation period is 3 weeks to 8 months, with an average of 3 months. The size and shape of the lesions vary. Initially, they are soft, light red papules that gradually increase in size. The surface proliferates in a granular and rough manner, or merges into a cauliflower shape. It is mainly transmitted through sexual contact, but can also be transmitted through contaminated daily utensils.
It is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases in modern society, and its incidence rate is increasing year by year. According to incomplete statistics, the number of cases of genital warts in the United States has increased fivefold in the past 15 years. Genital warts are also one of the most important sexually transmitted diseases in my country. Because of its strong infectiousness, easy recurrence, and association with genital malignant tumors, it has attracted great attention from the medical community.
The virus can spread through the bloodstream. Using nucleic acid hybridization technology, more than 100 types of HPV have been isolated, and some HPV DNA genomes have been molecularly cloned and completely sequenced. Clinically, the types of HPV are related to the causes of certain different types of warts. Different types of HPV can infect and cause skin damage, non-genital mucosal or genital damage. There are more than 30 subtypes of HPV that can cause genital warts, among which HPV6, 11, 16, and 18 are the most common. Depending on whether the infected cells can turn into cancer, that is, according to the degree of their carcinogenic risk, HPV can be divided into high-risk, medium-risk and low-risk types. Currently, the high-risk HPVs recognized are mainly 16, 18, 31, 35, 39, 45, etc.
