Transmission of Genital warts

[Francis2]

A lady I met had genital warts over 10 years ago and had them removed.  She has had no signs of them for years.

Is it true that there really is no transmission risk now and that contact of all kinds of contact would be safe?

[Spacefoo]

Doctor,

I am curious as to why GARDASIL can't be used as a therapeutic vaccine to shorten active HPV infection for those with genital warts? Or for those who want to minimize the risk of transmission to others? Theoretically, wouldn't it at least trigger antibodies to the HPV wart strains and would help to, at the least, suppress the virus in a person with an active infection? I understand that they did not do trials, so there is no *definitive* answer, but, knowing some immunology, wouldn't it make sense that GARDASIL would help to suppress an active wart infection (once the 3 series vaccine is completed) and reduce infectivity? Also, do you suggest patients have protected sex with new partners without ethical requirements to disclose past genital warts because 6 months post-wart, as at that stage, the virus can be assumed to be suppressed to a level that is intransmissible? What % of your patients after at most 2 wart removal treatments never have a recurrence as far as you know?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

Very few people are able to transmit HPV to their partners more than several months after their infections clear up.  There is almost no chance you are at risk for catching your partner's distant past warts infection.

HHH, MD