HPV vs HIV: How They Are Transmitted and How to Protect Yourself?

HPV vs HIV are two of the most commonly occurring sexually transmitted infections (STIs) which affect millions of people every year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly 42 million Americans get infected with an HPV infection while approximately 32,000 people contract HIV annually. Although both these viruses are not related, each of these can lead to serious illnesses as well as cervical cancer.

In this article, let us discuss HPV vs HIV, their causative agents, as well as their transmission.

What is HPV?

Human papillomavirus or HPV is a viral entity that causes a contagious infection of the throat, skin, as well as genitals. The disease is one of the sexually transmitted infections (STIs) which can progress to cause cervical cancer. More than 30 strains of the virus can affect the human species among which some are higher risk than others. However, some of the HPV strains are completely harmless as well.

Transmission of HPV

As mentioned earlier, HPV is a sexually transmitted infectious agent that is transmitted from one person to another due to skin-to-skin contact or during sexual activity. Moreover, the infection can also be contracted through oral or anal sex. To be clear, if the vulva, vagina, penis, or scrotum comes into contact with the genitalia of an infected partner, the viral transmission happens quickly.

In addition, there is also a risk of infection transfer if a healthy partner touches the affected genitalia of their partner. However, the likelihood is far less than that in the above cases. Keep in mind that the virus can be transmitted without the transfer of body fluids as well just by touching or coming into contact.

In the case of a pregnant individual, an HPV infection can affect the baby during birth as the virus can get transferred from the mother’s affected genitalia to the baby’s larynx. In rare cases, noncancerous lesions have been observed on the larynx of the newborn. Such infections increase the risk of fetal death.

Symptoms of HPV Infection

If a person has an HPV infection, the following symptoms are likely to appear:

• Appearance of warts on the hands, face, or feet
• Appearance of rough and cauliflower-like lumpy warts on genitalia (i.e. vagina, vulva, cervix, penis, and scrotum) as well as on anus and rectum

In most cases, these warts are itchy and the person feels uncomfortable.

Types of Warts Associated With an HPV Infection

Depending upon the kind of HPV strain affecting a person, the warts associated with the infection can be of the following types:

1.      Genital Warts

Genital warts are flat in appearance and look like cauliflower-shaped lumps. In men, these warts appear on the penis, scrotum, and around the anus while in women, the vulva, cervix, vagina, and anus are mostly affected.

2.      Common Warts

Common warts appear on hands and fingers. These are like small raised bumps which might be painful. These common warts can get affected during day-to-day activities which often results in an injury and bleeding.

3.      Flat Warts

Flat warts are not bumpy in appearance but are flatter on the surface. These can occur in men, women, and children. In men, flat warts are common on beard areas, in women, legs are mostly affected while in kids, flat warts appear on the face.

4.      Plantar Warts

Plantar warts are rigid and grainy in appearance. Due to their firmness, these often cause discomfort to the patient. People often get plantar warts on the heels of their feet.

Can HPV Warts Become Cancerous?

If the warts persist for a long time, the cells of the genital organs become precancerous due to mutations caused by the HPV virus. Over time, these precancerous structures become cancerous thus causing vulvar carcinoma, vaginal cancer, as well as cervical cancer. However, regular screening can detect the presence of the infection as well as these precancerous cells which can effectively prevent the occurrence of HPV-related cancer.

Prevention of an HPV Infection

Even though the genital HPV infection can affect anyone, it is possible to reduce the risk by adopting the following practices:

Get Vaccinated

As there is no proper treatment for viral diseases, prevention of the infection is the primary concern. For this purpose, the HPV vaccine is available. According to the CDC, children should start getting vaccinated by the age of 9.

Two or three doses are usually administered in this regard. People who are above the age of 26 years do not need to get vaccinated but the healthcare provider can decide otherwise if the benefits are considerable.

Get Screened Regularly

The CDC also recommends getting screened for the HPV infection. For this purpose, two tests can be taken:

• Pap test or Pap smear which evaluates the genital cells to locate the presence of precancerous entities.
• HPV test which is used to detect the changes in the cervical cells due to an HPV infection.

Adopt Safe Sexual Practices

Apart from the above, it is also essential to adopt healthy sexual practices. Proper use of condoms is recommended. It is also beneficial to limit the number of sexual partners. If you know that your partner is affected by the infection, avoid touching or coming into direct contact with their genitalia. This practice is essential during both HPV vs HIV.

What is HIV?

HIV is an abbreviation for ‘human immunodeficiency virus’. It is a retroviral entity that is responsible for causing AIDS. Like HPV, HIV is also a sexually transmitted infectious agent that attacks the cells responsible for defending the body against microbes.

Between the HPV vs HIV infections, the cells that are affected by HIV are a type of white blood cells (WBCs) called helper T cells or CD4 cells. The person infected with the HIV virus feels flu-like symptoms. As the infection diminishes the role of the immune system, the person becomes susceptible to any disease-causing agent. That’s why, people become sick again and again.

Transmission of HIV

Between HPV vs HIV, the transmission of HIV happens due to several reasons. These include the following:

Sexual Contact

The primary reason for the transmission of both HPV vs HIV is sexual intimacy. The virus can easily pass from one person to another via vaginal, oral, and anal route. Therefore, the adoption of safe sexual practices is necessary for the prevention of HPV vs HIV.

Blood Transfusion

During blood transfusion, HIV can get transferred from the infected person to the healthy one through blood. Apart from the blood, any kind of body fluids can also transfer HIV.

Needle Sharing

The incidence of HIV is highest among the drug addicts. This is because sharing needles is a common practice among them. These used needles can carry HIV from one person to all the others who use the same needle. As per the CDC, out of every 10,000 HIV exposures, 63 are caused due to a shared needle.

Perinatal Transmission

Perinatal transmission indicates the transfer of an infectious entity from the mother to the newborn during pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding. Between HPV vs HIV, HIV can be transmitted in all of these cases if the mother has it thus increasing the risk for the baby.

It should be kept in mind that the HIV does not transmit from the following:

• Touching, hugging, or kissing the affected person (Kissing can transmit HIV if both partners have mouth sores or bleeding gums)
• Sharing swimming pools, bathrooms, etc.
• Sharing utensils
• Donating blood

Can Human Immunodeficiency Virus Cause Cervical Cancer?

Once the human immunodeficiency virus is in the body, it can remain inactive for many years without showing any signs or symptoms. This is called chronic HIV or a state of clinical latency. However, even though it is latent, the virus can still transmit from people with HIV to healthy individuals.

After this latency period is over, the virus can become active and start destroying the patient’s CD4 cells. In severe cases when the damage is serious, the disease state is called AIDS. In HIV-positive patients, the immune system is extremely weakened so they become sick frequently due to opportunistic infections which can lead to cancer. As a matter of fact, both HPV vs HIV can become the cause of cervical cancer in case of severe infections.

Symptoms of HIV

Between HPV vs HIV, the HIV infection comes with a number of symptoms that resemble those associated with the flu. These include the following:

• Fatigue
• Sore throat
• Sweating during the night
• Sores on the buccal mucosa
• Swollen lymph nodes
• Fever
• Chills
• Rashes
• Body and muscle pain

Prevention of an HIV Infection

As both HPV and HIV are viral infections, their prevention is far easier than their treatment. Unlike HPV, there is no vaccine available for HIV. Therefore, prevention is our only chance. The following are some of the measures that need to be adopted for the prevention of HIV infection:

• The use of rubber-based condoms must be made mandatory while having oral, vaginal, or anal sex.
• Employment of animal products-based condoms should be avoided.
• Water-based lubricants like lotions should be used.
• Do not reuse already used needles and syringes. Never share a needle with anyone under any circumstances.
• If you have some sexually transmitted infection (STI), it is advised to seek treatment immediately as such infections can lead to HIV.
• If you fall among the high-risk group or have already been exposed to HIV, discuss the pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylactic options (PEP) with your doctor.
• Getting tested is also beneficial for the early detection of HIV. In this regard, home-based testing kits for HIV are available.

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Conclusion

HPV vs HIV are both viruses that are contracted via sexual contact. Both of these come with different signs and symptoms but have somewhat similar transmission patterns. Both HPV vs HIV are diseases that can be managed in their initial stages. However, both conditions have a risk of becoming worse and often lead to cancer in certain patients.

Between HPV vs HIV, there is a vaccine for the prior but not for the latter. However, even if a person gets vaccinated for HPV, there is not a 100% safety guarantee. Therefore, preventive measures must be adopted. As it is often said, the prevention of a disease is far better than getting treated for it.

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References

https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/about/index.html#:~:text=HPV%20infections%20are%20very%20common.&text=More%20than%2042%20million%20Americans,teens%2C%20become%20infected%20each%20year.

https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/data-research/facts-stats/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/hpv/hcp/recommendations.html

https://www.cdc.gov/cervical-cancer/screening/index.html

https://www.cdc.gov/hivpartners/php/riskandprevention/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/risk/estimates/riskbehaviors.html#cdc_research_or_data_summary_themes_conclu-hiv-risk-behaviors