Finding Warts/How contagious

[RickH1051]

Hi Doc.  I have at least one wart at the base of my penis. It's been an issue for about 4 months and I just finished a second cryo treatment to get rid of it.  With all the information about how warts are sometimes undectable, I'm trying to understand if I might have the virus active in other areas or is my problem restricted to just this one area.  Also, I'm wondering how easy it is to transmit.  Because of the location, it can't be covered with a condom. I know i need to be careful and avoid contact, but what sort of contact would allow it to be transmitted (slightest touch)?

Thanks for your help...

Rick

[Edward W Hook, MD]

No, the site of infection is the wart, not elsewhere.  EWH

[RickH1051]

Hi Rd. Hook,

This is very helpfull but I might not have been specific enough with part of my question.  So, having a single wart in my pubic area, am i likely to have the virus on my penis?

Thank you very much for your advice.

Rick

[Edward W Hook, MD]

Welcome to the STD Prevention Forum.  This is a challenging question for which there are not precise answers.  While there are rough estimates as to how likely it is for some STDs to be transmitted by contact, at best these are estimates and for HPV we really do not even have good estimates.  We can be sure however that most contacts with infected persons, no matter what the STD (i.e. HPV, HSV, gonorrhea, even HIV) do not lead to transmission of infection.  We do know that HPV infections are very common but that appears to be in part because they (HPV infections)  are so common and because so many infected people are, in general, unaware of their infections.  Treatment which leads to resolution of infection in which there are no signs of recurrence prevents further transmission to others.  

Furthermore, it is important to appreciate that different types of warts tend to "favor" different locations.  Thus warts appearing on some ones hand typically do not infect the genital tract, even when contact occurs. similarly, the types of HPV that cause genital warts typically do not infection skin on other body locations.

I realize this does not provide the detail you are likely to want.  I hope these comments are helpful however.  EWH