SEX-RELATED DISEASES: GENITAL WARTS
Of the new cases attending STD clinics in 1976 genital warts were found in twenty-two and a half thousand. By 1985 the number had increased to nearly 54,000 and has risen further, especially in women, since then. The condition is important because the organism which causes it, human papillomavirus, has now taken over from the herpes virus as being the chief suspect as causing cancer of the cervix. The worry arises from the fact that after declining for years, the number of cases of cancer of the cervix is rising, especially in young women.
Warts are transmitted venereally and appear after quite a long incubation period anywhere on or in the genital and anal areas. At first they take the form of hard lumps in the skin but they soon turn into typical warts which can be more prolific than those which appear elsewhere on the body. They can be treated with substances such as podophyllin or be removed by other means. Talk to your GP about them or go to a Special Clinic.
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