What is HPV?

HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is a virus that can be transmitted simply from skin to skin contact. There are over 100 types of HPV that are classified as cutaneous (if they infect the skin) or mucosal (if they infect mucous membranes) – some HPV is sexually transmitted and those fall into 2 more groups: low-risk types which can cause genital warts, and high-risk types which increase the risk of certain cancers (cervical, vaginal, vulvar, penile, tonsil, oropharyngeal, rectal, anal). Other types of HPV cause common warts, flat warts, and plantar warts on other areas of the body.