I have had two procedures to rid myself of HPV.  I have only had sex
with two people my entire life and the first person was my husband and
the second was with a man who had sex with many woman.  He had a wart
on his penis and told me that he had it checked every six months for
cancer.  Six months after having sex with him I had a bad pap test and
for the last 3 years a bad one since. I have never ever had a problem
with a pap test.  I was checked for STD's and AIDS after the
relationship ended. He also would break out in cold
sores too.  I know he is the cause of this and I don't know how to
prove he is the one. My doctor feels he is also. Is there a way to
prove it through my infection
and link it to him?

Dear brooke303-ga;

Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. While I
am a researcher and not a physician, you will see from my past
interactions with several other customers that I have extensively
researched a variety of issues related to Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
in both men and women similar to the question you have asked today.

GOOGLE ANSWERS
http://answers.google.com/answers/search?q=tutuzdad+hpv&qtype=all

There are more than 70 types of human papillomavirus (some scientists
say there may be over 100 subtypes) and about 30 of them are
especially prevalent (20-40 million Americans are infected [Source:
Rutgers University). Modern technology allows us trace only a few of
them back to a specific source of the infection ? and even then only
in ideal circumstances. In Type 16, a variant that people of all ages
for example, a DNA sequence analysis can ?sometimes? determine the
source of infection. This is not the case however with regard to the
infection on a universal level and it certainly does not apply to all
70-plus strains.

While DNA might, in rare instances, be able to identify the source,
one must logically have a control sample from the source with which to
compare. Absent this there is no hope of determining where you got the
infection to a reasonable degree of scientific certainty. Most
physicians (as I?m sure you are well aware by now) rely almost
entirely upon patient testimony to base their ?hypothesis? of the
?most likely? source and even that common practice has an undetermined
margin of error.

The fact that you had sexual relations with a partner who exhibited
suspicious symptoms does not automatically exclude any partners you
might have had in the past who exhibited no symptoms at all. HPV can
lie dormant for years and in some instances FOREVER in men. Men who
have had sex with infected partners often become asymptomatic carriers
of the virus and never have any symptoms at all. Therefore, to put it
another way, ANY person with whom you have had intercourse with is
suspect, but probably not quite as suspect as one who appeared to have
suspicious symptoms.

According to the Centers for Disease Control HPV testing in men simply
doesn?t exist. Currently, there is no test approved to detect HPV in
men. There are, however, ways to detect genital warts, the most common
problem caused by HPV in men. The bad news (from a scientific
standpoint anyway) is that genital warts are usually diagnosed by
visual inspection and not DNA, and visual inspection alone cannot aid
in identifying someone as the source. Rutgers University Health
Services puts the situation more bluntly into perspective, ??it is
often extremely difficult or impossible to figure out who infected
whom.?
RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
http://health.rutgers.edu/hpv/

I?m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it appears that the
possibility of identifying the source with any degree of medical
certainty is highly unlikely. Based on your testimony however you
might (depending on the laws of your state) be able to pursue the
matter criminally provided you can convince a court beyond a
?reasonable? doubt that this person knowingly infected you (assuming
he knew) with the virus. This of course may prove to be publicly
humiliating for both of you whether you win your case or not. On the
other hand, you may also consult an attorney to see what your chances
are of winning a civil suit should you choose to sue the man for
knowingly infecting you (assuming he knew). Why? Because in a civil
case the burden of proof is not nearly as great as ?reasonable doubt?
rather a civil court relies upon ?a preponderance of the evidence?
presented at trial. In other words, if a judge or jury believes YOU
and not HIM, you win. This too could prove to be a publicly
humiliating experience and should not be undertaken lightly. If you
choose to do this you must know that certain intimate details about
your private life will undoubtedly be hung out for all to see (perhaps
even literally).

So, the short answer to your question is NO, you aren?t likely to
determine that this fellow is the one who infected you using any type
of medical or scientific analysis since there is no test that can even
establish with any certainty that he has the virus in the first place,
but if you feel like you know in your heart that he is the one and you
want to see if a court will officially ?find? him at fault, you have
some tough decisions to make. I suggest you make them with the help of
an attorney.

I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have
any questions about my research please post a clarification request
prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your
final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the
near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;

Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher


[INFORMATION SOURCES]

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL
http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV-and-men.htm

WEBMD
http://www.webmd.com/hw/uterine_cervical_cancer/tu6451.asp

RUTGERS UNIVERSITY
http://health.rutgers.edu/hpv/


[SEARCH STRATEGY]


SEARCH ENGINE(S) USED:

Google ://www.google.com
 

[SEARCH TERMS USED]

HPV

Human Papillomavirus

TRACE

TRACK

ORIGIN

SOURCE

TEST

ANALYSIS

DNA

Thank you for your answer!  Also thank you for listing other answers
to this topic.  Considering the one answer you gave someone else you
say HPV is caused by warts.  Well I have only had sex with one man
that had warts and so now more than ever I realize it is he who gave
me this.
I do not plan to go to court or sue him because I keep up with my
health but, my concern is other women he is infecting with this and
not realizing he is.  He is only thinking of his health not the women
he is having relations with and I only want him to know what damage he
could be causing.
Thank you again!  I really appreciate you indepth answer!

Theoretically you could prove you have the same strain, and possibly
further testing *could* prove it's from him, if you could get him to
go in for testing (not likely). This would also be incredibly
expensive.

Brooke303, Tutuzdad, it is important to realize that the HPV strains
that cause warts externally are not usually the same strains that
cause abnormal pap smears.  HPV strains 16 and 18 are the so-called
high-risk strains which are more likely to cause abnormal pap smears
and possible cervical cancer.  External genital warts (condyloma
acuminata) are usually caused by types 6 and 11.  Of course any of the
other many strains can cause either or both problem, but the external
warts usually don't cause the internal problems, and vice-versa.

That said, it is logical to believe that your promiscuous friend is
multiply infected and you got the HPV from him: unfortunately, HPV is
extremely common, and your concern for protecting other women from his
disease is probably unnecessary.  One study of college aged women
showed that at the beginning of the study, about 1/4 of the women had
the disease, and 2/5 of the remaining women acquired it in the next 3
years.  (Title: Natural history of cervicovaginal papillomavirus
infection in young women. Authors: Ho GY; Bierman R; Beardsley L;
Chang CJ; Burk RD Source: N Engl J Med 1998 Feb 12;338(7):423-8.)