Warts: The most common sexually transmitted disease

It is the most common sexually transmitted disease, since approximately 80% of the sexually active population will come into contact with the virus at some point in their lives. Of these, only a quarter will make a clinical manifestation, that is, they will develop visible warts on clinical examination.

How are they transmitted?
“With intercourse. When a person comes into contact with the virus, two possibilities arise: either they will remain a carrier or they will shed the virus. If another strain does not get attached after two years, it can heal itself, which happens in 50% of cases”, explains Mr. Konstantinos Mileounis, Director Dermatologist at Metropolitan Hospital.

How is the diagnosis made?
Unfortunately there is no blood test that documents the existence of the virus. Therefore, the diagnosis is usually made clinically. When some small pimples are detected during the clinical examination, the infection with the virus is a given. If a diagnosis needs to be confirmed, a skin sample will be biopsied.

“If we want to see which strain of the virus it is, we will do PCR. It is a control technique that allows us not only to establish the existence of the virus but also to specifically see its strain. Determining the “identity” of the strain has significant clinical value, as some of them are implicated in the development of cervical cancer.

Therefore, by establishing the strain of the virus we can check whether it is of high or low risk in terms of causing cervical cancer. In fact, the same strains are responsible for rectal cancer and penile cancer, however these two are much rarer cancers than cervical cancer,” the doctor points out.

What is the treatment?
In the event that there is something alarming during the clinical examination, treatment begins, which consists in destroying the lesions (the pimples) either by cryotherapy using liquid nitrogen or by “burning” with a laser. But be careful: with this treatment, unfortunately, the virus is not “killed”, but its manifestation is destroyed. To reduce the possibility of recurrence and asymptomatic transmission, the above treatment is supplemented with local treatment, which does immunostimulation, i.e. increases the body’s defense against recurrences and asymptomatic transmission.
Precautions

“One precaution is to use a condom, however this is about 80% effective at transmitting the virus as it usually leaves the base of the penis exposed. Another measure is the vaccine against the virus (9-18 years, with a recommendation to give it during the “age window” of 9 to 11 years) for girls and boys. The most effective measure, of course, is to avoid exposure to the virus through the existence of a stable sexual partner (“monogamous” relationship)”, concludes Mr. Mileounis.

Written by:

K. Konstantinos Mileunis, Director Dermatologist at Metropolitan Hospital

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