High-risk HPV

[Concerned999]

Hi.  Thanks for all the information on here--it's a big help.  I realise that many threads have covered the issue of HPV, but I feel that my case is slightly unique, so I wanted to post.  I recently discovered that a woman I had (protected) sex with once in May and once in September this year has been diagnosed with high-risk HPV.  She was a virgin before we had sex and the tests that led to diagnosis occurred about 10 days after the day we had sex in September.  Based on what I have read, the most probable explanation is that I was carrying the virus in May and transmitted it to her then.  Since it is high-risk HPV and I am a male, I obviously have never shown any symptoms.  In fact, I have never shown symptoms of any STD and I have always tested negative for STDs.
    My question: How can I possibly get any idea of whether I am still infected?  Most of the threads about male HPV in this forum seem to refer to low-risk HPV, presumably because men hardly ever know if they have high-risk HPV.  My other question is ethical (appropriate here?): How far into the future I should inform new sexual partners of this?  People in other threads talk about telling new partners for the few months after warts have disappeared, but in my case there are no symptoms because it is high-risk HPV.  Any advice/comments will be appreciated.  If I have missed a thread that dealt specifically with this issue, please direct me to it.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

If your partner's sexual history is accurate, i.e. no sex with anybody before you, then logically you are the source of her infection.  However, genital apposition (i.e., sex without penetration, sometimes called "outercourse") can transmit HPV; if she was a technical virgin but still had some heavy petting, should could have been infected before you.  You might never know for sure.  And even if you weren't the source, you can assume you were infected; if you didn't have it first, most likely you were infected from your partner.

That the HPV was a high risk type is to be expected; in general, the high risk types are the most common.  There is no test to prove whether or not you actually are infected, or to tell if your presumed infection has gone away.

There are no firm guidelines about informing other partners in the future.  Most HPV infections clear up on their own after several months.  My personal opinion is that once a year or so has passed, there is no need to inform partners.  Since most people are going to get sexually acquired HPV someday (including high risk types), regardless of what precautions they take, telling or not telling probably doesn't make much difference in the long run.  However, others disagree with me on this and think that everybody who knows they have ever had genital HPV are ethically obligated to inform all future partners.  (Many who disagree are people who have had HPV problems themselves and are pissed that a past partner didn't warn them. Most STD/HPV experts agree with my approach.)

Congratulations for apparently having a level-headed perspective on this.  It sounds like you're not as upset as some people on this forum have been, and are trying to do the right thing for your current and future partner(s).  Good show.

I hope this helps.  Happy TG--  HHH, MD

[Concerned999]

OK, thanks a lot for that.  Happy Thanksgiving.