HIV and HPV

Hello,
I was in a monogamous relationship for three years. I separated earlier this year and I had sexual contact with a girlfriend. We did not have sex but our genitals did make contact and I may have briefly penetrated her, but as I has no condom I decided not to continue. As I got back to my wife, she asked me to have an HIV test which I did at 35 days and 3 months and half after this incident (antibodies and antigen). I not really worried about hiv given the negative results, but what about HPV? My wife is worried now about a possible HPV infection and the possibility of cancer. Should we worried about this?
thanks
regards, ROBSA

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the Forum. Let's start with the easy question first.  Be confident that you did not get HIV. Your exposure was very low risk and the 3 month test absolutely confirms that you did not get HIV from the contact you describe.

As for HPV, this is amore difficult topic.  I will try to provide some facts.  For additional information on this most common of STDs, I would suggest search for other HPV- and wart-related Q&A on this site, as well seeking addition information on sites such as the American Social health Association web-site (disclosure, Dr. Handsfield and I are both on the Board of ASHA)..

You you do not know that your partner has HPV and this is, in part the basis for your concerns.  It should not concern you however.  The fact is that it is likely that you and your wife may well have had HPV before your break-up and the subsequent events.  For better or worse, at present HPV is a "fact of life" and most people have it or will have it at some point in the future.  Despite this fact, only a tiny minority of persons with HPV get the consequences of infection (primarily women and primarily cancer and pre-cancerous lesions).  HPV is the most commonly acquired STD.  Over 85% of sexually active women will have HPV infection at some time in their lives.  The figure for men is less well studied but similar.   In some HPV will cause genital warts, in others it will not cause warts but may lead to changes in PAP smears.  In nearly everyone who gets HPV, warts or otherwise, the infections will resolve by themselves without therapy in 8-24 months.  In a very small minority of women, HPV infection can persist and lead to the pre-cancerous lesions that PAP smears detect and which can then be treated.  For men there is far less risk of any sort.  

Overall, I would say that given your limited contact the likelyhood that you got HPV is low however there is no reasonable way of telling.  You wife just needs to continue to get her regular Pap smears.  I predict there  will not be a problem.

Hope this comment is some help.  EWH