Women who have sex with women including lesbians can be infected with human papillomavirus HPV , as well as other sexually transmitted infections STIs. HPV is known for its link to the development of cervical cancer and other cancers.
HPV is also responsible for genital warts. It's important to know that sexual minority people with vaginas often believe they are at less risk for HPV than heterosexual people with vaginas. They may be less likely to receive preventive care such as vaccination and screening.
Lesbians have the lowest risk of getting human immunodeficiency virus HIV due mainly to the sexual activities they engage in such as oral sex , which are less commonly associated with the infection. HPV is a virus transmitted from close skin-to-skin contact, typically during vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
Most people with HPV do not have symptoms and never know they were infected. Out of about strains of HPV, most do not cause health problems and are often called low-risk types. Only around 14 strains are known to potentially cause cancer, and often the immune system controls the infection and prevents cancer from occurring.
There are over different strains of the HPV virus, 40 of which are considered the "genital type" and can be transmitted during sexual contact. The types of HPV of most concern are those that can cause genital warts and those that can lead to cancer. The strains that cause warts are different from the strains that cause cancer.
