Human Papillomavirus

Hi, I know many people already posted this question but http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/219110-overview says that HPV can survive without a host for months a low temperature. I have a few warts on my foot and I'm getting paranoid about it getting transmitted to other parts of my body. I stopped wearing jeans or longer pants because I'm afraid that if the warts on my foot touches it, it'll spread to other parts of my leg. Each time I wear my underwear or shorts and I touch em, I got to wash them. I'm paranoid about touching the ground and I got to wipe everything I touch. If I wash my clothes and it touches somewhere else I think I might have infected, I wash them again.
A lot of people says it can't be transferred this way but that above site and a few others says they can.
I want to know what's the likelihood of it happening.

[S. Kaul, MD]

Hi there!

Though it is believed that HPV can survive for weeks/ months without a host; the HPV type is usually region specific i.e. a foot wart is unlikely to cause infection of other body parts.
Hope this information is helpful.

Take care!