A recent report from the CDC shows that more than 42 percent of Americans between the ages of 18 and 59 are infected with genital human papillomavirus.
The CDC report on Prevalence of HPV Infections in the U.S. (published April 2017) is an important resource that covers our present state of knowledge.
Two vaccines are effective in preventing sexually transmitted HPV infection, and researchers said the new data lend urgency to the drive to have adolescents vaccinated. [This will be used by the companies that produce the vaccines as a potent advertising tool]
HPV usually is spread through direct contact with infected genital skin or mucuous membranes during intercourse or oral sex. Over 90 percent of HPV infections are cleared by the body within two years.
Testing: There is no HPV test for men at all. A test for women is sometimes used in conjunction with a Pap screen for cervical cancer.
This is important information and the CDC report is the best information we have. At least the CDC is not in the business of marketing vaccines or treatments. The best we can do, at this time, is to immunize children. Not all of the public will be able to afford the vaccine and in some areas it is not a covered benefit for men. This may change.
A potential fall-out from the report is that it will foster health anxiety and promote cyberchondria. It may cause a spike in "venereophobia." Time will tell.