Hey Dr Sue — Is It True That Almost Or Over 50% Of People Today Have HPV?

Yes — but getting the actual number of people who have it is a bit difficult. The reason for this is that unlike STIs like gonorrhea and chlamydia, cases of HPV do not need to be reported.

So while I can’t give you the actual rates, what I can tell you is that HPV is really common. As a matter of fact, if you go to the CDC website you’ll see this:

You may be asking yourself “if it’s so common do I need to be concerned about it?” The answer is maybe.

While super common (the most common STI in the US), the concern around HPV is the strain you get infected with. There are over 100 strains. Of these only about 40 impact the genital area.

Of these there are only a few that considered high-risk. These are the ones that can cause cancer.

The ones that cause genital warts are not considered high risk since they don’t cause cancer.

The good news is that there are vaccines that can help protect you from getting infected. Which strains the vaccine protects you against depends on the vaccine you get. Some protect against 2 strains, while others protect against either 4 or 9.

There was a time when the vaccine was only recommended for girls, but now we recommend it for everyone…