HPV stands for human papillomavirus. There are more than 100 types of HPV, known as low-risk types (indicated by numbers 6, 11, 40, 42, 43, 44, 53, 54, 61, 72, 73 and 81) and high-risk types (6, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 and 68).
High-risk types are dangerous because of their oncogenic nature, i.e. they cause abnormal cell changes which can result in cervical, penile, vaginal, vulvar, anal cancer. The most dangerous types are considered to be types: 16, 18, 31 and 45. Laboratory testing identifies the type of HPV a person has.
HPV diagnostics
There is no blood test for HPV. A doctor can diagnose one of the HPV type, genital warts, through a visual examination. Some HPV infected people show no symptoms at all, so called asymptomatic form. And here is the pitfall: a person can be asymptomatically infected having no idea about the disease and lead active sexual life. So in this case HPV can be diagnosed through PAP test, colposcopy and DNA test.