HPV is a really common virus, but there are lots of myths and stigma which can cause shame, fear and confusion.

Embarrassing, rare, dirty, and scary. These are just some of the words people can associate with HPV. Together, we can change this.

Get the facts about HPV

At some point in our lives, 4 out of 5 (80%) of us will get at least one type of HPV.

In most cases the immune system will get rid of it. Around 90% of HPV infections clear within 2 years.

HPV infections do not usually have any symptoms, so you may not even know you had it.

HPV lives on our skin, so it is easy to get and difficult to completely protect against.

You are at risk of getting HPV from your first sexual contact, whatever that is – it doesn’t have to be penetrative sex.

We can have HPV for a long time without knowing about it, so it is hard to know when we got HPV or who we got it from.

Cervical screening (a smear test) can find a high-risk HPV virus and changes early, before it develops into cancer.

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