Symptoms of human papillomavirus (HPV)

Symptoms of human papillomavirus

Papilomavirusy infection can be symptomatic, follows subclinical or be latent (hidden).

The human papillomavirus causes:

• cervix ectopia;
• dysplasia and leukoplakia of the cervix;
• cervical adenocarcinoma in situ (AIS);
• cervical intraepithelial neoplasia I, II and III grade (CIN 1,СIN 2, CIN 3) (cervical cancer);
• intraepithelial neoplasia of vulva II and III grade (VIN 2/3 );
• intraepithelial neoplasia of vagina II and III grade (VaIN 2/3);
• genital warts and condylomas, flat and plantar warts.

Clinical manifestations of epithelium lesions with the Human Papillomavirus are very variable. Currently there are exophytic and endophytic forms, which can be combined with each other or may be a single manifestation of infection and usually are caused by various serotypes of this infection.

Exophytic forms of HPV infection are called genital warts or papillary; they are considered the most specific manifestation of PVI (papillomavirus infection) and known since long ago.

A special form of this infection is recurrent papillomatosis of the respiratory tract. It is a benign tumor disease — proliferation of nasopharynx epithelium around the respiratory tract - from the nasal cavity to the periphery of the lungs. Most commonly the larynx is diseased.
Clinical form of this infection is called juvenile recurrent laryngeal papillomatosis. One of the main reasons is considered the fetus infection during the passage through the birth canal of an infected mother.

On infecting the mucous membranes of the genitalia with HPV, most often the process is subclinical, usually on the background of various gynecological diseases, such as vulvovaginitis, pseudo cervix, endocervicitis. Almost a natural combination of Human Papillomavirus infection with syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, trichomoniasis. The most common complaints are itching and burning in the genital zona, leucorrhoea, dyspareunia, dysuria. Specific manifestations of Human Papillomavirus infection are vulva condylomatosis, vagina condylomatosis and anaplastic changes in the cervical epithelium.

Clinical manifestations of the disease are genital warts and anal-genital zona: urethra, perineum, anus, rectum, vulva, vagina, cervix (flat warts). Warts usually do not manifest themselves, but, being brittle, can bleed. In women they often are located on the external genitals and perineum. But 50% of women with a vulva lesion have genital warts on the cervix, which can be visible at colposcopy and become white after treatment of the affected surface with 5% acetic acid.

Often these formations cause itching, pain or irritation at touching them, and sometimes they bleed. In women genital warts are most often found in the vagina, labia and rarely in the vagina and on the cervix. The outer opening of the urethra is often affected in men, but the perineum zona and anus in women, that is due to differences in sexual behavior during sexual intercourse. Genital warts in the perineum are more common in people, practicing anal sex, and genital warts of the anus area only in such people.

Squamous intraepithelial lesions of the cervix are detected by screening with colposcopy and cervix biopsy. Visually these lesions, as well as flat genital warts are difficult to define and become visible only after treatment of the affected surface with 3,0 - 5% acetic acid.

Human diseases caused by various types of PVI (papillomavirus infection):