HPV vaccination
Vaccination against HP viruses is officially recommended by the Robert Koch Institute for both boys and girls. The costs for the vaccination are usually covered by the health insurance companies for girls between the ages of 9 and 14. In case of doubt, you should contact the health insurance company directly and inquire there.
The vaccination is a triple dose with an active substance that is supposed to be effective against nine different types of HPV. The vaccination mainly derives its raison d’être from the protection against the development of cervical cancer at the base of an HPV infection. Since a colonization with HP viruses usually occurs with the beginning of sexual activity, the vaccination should be administered before the first sexual intercourse if possible.
If this activity is not yet reached by the age of 14, a later vaccination is also recommended. Health insurance companies will then pay for these vaccinations in individual cases. For more detailed information on the coverage of costs and possible side effects, etc., please refer to the website of the Robert Koch Institute.
What is the transmission path?
The transmission usually starts from a person infected with HPV.This can either transmit the virus directly to another person or release the virus into the environment, where it survives for some time until it comes into contact with the next person. The viruses find a way “through” the skin, as they seek to implant themselves in the lowest layer of the skin and allow themselves to multiply there. The virus does this either by penetrating small wounds in the skin, where the uppermost skin layer, which serves as a protective barrier, is missing, or by contact with mucous membrane, which also does not have this typical uppermost skin layer.
The mouth or genital area are typical places where mucous membranes can be found. If the viruses have settled in the cells of the lowest skin layer, they cause them to divide more strongly. Every infected skin cell now produces new cells that are also colonized by viruses.
As the skin cells divide more often than normal – due to the viruses – small tissue growths, the so-called warts, are formed. Over the course of weeks, the virus-containing cells of the lowest skin layer come to the surface, as the skin is constantly renewing itself from below. If these superficial virus-containing cells are injured or destroyed, viruses are released which are then either transmitted directly to a person or into the environment. Bleeding warts are therefore highly contagious and can cause new warts in the places where the blood reaches.
