VIDEO. What you need to know about papillomaviruses

“In fact, these are viruses that will have a tropism, that is to say an attraction for the genital mucous membranes, for the mucous membranes of the oropharynx and the anal mucosa. There are many papillomaviruses that are either carcinogenic or non-carcinogenic.“80% of the population will be exposed to this infection, men and women. And 90% will recover from it. Papillomaviruses are sexually transmitted infections that affect the entire population during their sexual life. But it is also one of the leading causes of cervical cancer in women. Here’s what you need to know about this infection.

“There are benign lesions and precancerous lesions”

“All these papillomaviruses are transmitted sexually only. There is no transmission on the toilet or in the pool. Because it is often a question that is asked. So, you need contact, so either by penetration, or by contact at the low level of the skin, for example pubis against pubis, or it can be a virus that is also transported manually, during caresses, during foreplay. And then there is also a transmission which is oro-genital”, explains Julia Maruani, medical gynecologist and vice-president of the French Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology.

In women, the papillomavirus can be detected through smears. Doctors are particularly interested in knowing the impact of this infection on the cells, and the lesions that may appear. “There are, indeed, benign lesions linked to the papillomavirus and precancerous lesions. So we call that low-grade lesions or high-grade lesions; these are the terms that patients can see on their results. So low-grade lesions are lesions that have a very low potential for progression to high grade, less than 5%. What you really need to understand is that these low-grade, benign lesions will regress on their own in the majority of cases, or remain persistent, but they will pose no danger to the woman.“In the case of precancerous lesions, medical personnel operate on women to remove the affected area.