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HPV

Human Papilloma Virus

HPV is the name of a very common group of viruses. They do not cause any problems in most people, but some types can cause genital warts or cancer.

HPV affects the skin. There are more than 100 different types.

How HPV is spread

Many types of HPV affect the mouth, throat or genital area. They're easy to catch and you do not need to have penetrative sex.

You can get HPV from:

  • any skin-to-skin contact of the genital area
  • vaginal, anal or oral sex
  • sharing sex toys

HPV has no symptoms, so you may not know if you have it.

It's very common. Most people will get some type of HPV in their life.

Important:
You do not have to have sexual contact with a lot of people to get HPV. You can get HPV the first time you're sexually active.

Conditions linked to HPV

Most of the time HPV does not cause any problems.

In some people, some types of HPV can cause:

  • genital warts
  • abnormal changes in the cells that can sometimes turn into cancer HPV types linked to cancer are called high-risk types.

Cancers linked to high-risk HPV include:

Information:

You can have HPV for many years without it causing problems.

You can have it even if you have not been sexually active or had a new partner for many years.

How to protect yourself against HPV

You cannot fully protect yourself against HPV, but there are things that can help.

  • Condoms can help protect you against HPV, but they do not cover all the skin around your genitals, so you're not fully protected.
  • The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that cause most cases of genital warts and cervical cancer, as well as some other cancers. It does not protect against all types of HPV.

Find out more about the HPV vaccine and who can have it  

Testing for HPV

HPV testing is part of cervical screening. There's no blood test for HPV.

During cervical screening, a small sample of cells is taken from the cervix and tested for HPV.

Screening is offered to all women and people with a cervix aged 25 to 64. It helps protect them against cervical cancer.

Some sexual health clinics may offer anal screening to men with a higher risk of developing anal cancer, such as men who have sex with men.

Find out more about cervical screening and how it helps protect against cervical cancer

For local information visit Cervical screening programme 

Treating HPV infections

There's no treatment for HPV. Most HPV infections do not cause any problems and are cleared by your body within 2 years.

Read more about treating genital warts and treating abnormal cell changes in the cervix for local information visit Colposcopy Service 

Isle of Man HPV Vaccination Programme

This is delivered by School Health Team. During the school summer holidays, a letter explaining the vaccination programme will be sent out to all parents or guardians of students aged 12-13 across the Island. This will be accompanied by a consent form and leaflet providing further information about the virus and answers to some frequently asked questions. 

It is vital that this consent form is completed and returned in the return envelope provided or directly to

Community Care Directorate,
1st Floor, Crookall House,
Demesne Road, Douglas,
IM1 3QA

Without your consent your child will be unable to receive the vaccination as scheduled.

Two doses of the vaccine are required for full protection and these are provided in-school during year 8. The first vaccination session will normally be held in in the Autumn term, with the second in the following Spring term. In both cases, the vaccinator gives the vaccination in the upper arm.

Contact

If you have any further queries, please contact the HPV Vaccination Team on +44 1624 642602.

Privacy and GDPR 

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became Isle of Man law in August 2018. No change is required to the way in which parental agreement is obtained. Schools should continue to work with the healthcare teams providing vaccinations in schools, who will provide information resources and parental consent forms. 

The Department of Health and Social Care is committed to protecting your privacy and will only process personal confidential data in accordance with Data Protection Act 2018, the Data Protection (Application of GDPR) Order 2018, the Common Law Duty of Confidentiality and the Human Rights Act 2001.

For more details on how they do this visit www.gov.im/dhsc-privacy 

Updated September 2019

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