Definition
The human papilloma virus – HPV for short – is a pathogen that is about 50 nanometers in size and of which there are well over a hundred different species that cause different clinical pictures. For example, HPV can cause skin warts, but it can also be a predisposing factor for cervical cancer or laryngeal carcinoma.
Papilloma virus
The papilloma viruses belong to the DNA-bearing viruses and have a size of 45 to 55 nanometers. The subspecies of the human papilloma virus – HPV for short – is mainly relevant for humans. Papillomaviruses cause slow disease progression, which means that they are not acutely life-threatening in the event of an infection, as other pathogens are.
They cause the growth of tissue growths. These can either be benign, such as a skin or genital wart, or malignant, such as in cervical cancer. In addition, papilloma viruses are highly resistant to environmental influences, which enables them to survive for several weeks without a host.
How can you diagnose an infection with the HP virus?
The test for assessing whether HPV infection has occurred is a tissue sample of a potentially suspicious skin growth. This tissue sample is broken down into its individual components using enzymes and splitting procedures, and these are then tested for the presence of HPV DNA. If this can be found, it is considered proof of the presence of an infection.
Conversely, the absence of HPV DNA cannot exclude an infection with one hundred percent certainty. In addition, it is advisable to examine whether the viral DNA has already been integrated into the genetic material of the body’s own cells or whether it is still present loosely in the cells. Statistically speaking, integration is associated with a significantly higher risk of degeneration of skin growth. So-called tumor suppressor genes are destroyed by an integration of the viral DNA, so that cellular control mechanisms are eliminated and thus the tendency to degeneration increases.
