Epidemiology

In the UK, the estimated prevalence of detected human papillomavirus (HPV) among women aged 16 to 25 years undergoing routine cervical screening is 42%.[8] This rate decreases with increasing age.[8]

In the UK, there were 27,473 diagnoses of first episode genital warts in 2020, compared with 50,700 in 2019. This significant decline in new diagnoses is an expected outcome of the national HPV vaccination programme, as well as a consequence of the reduction in face-to-face consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]

For US adults aged 18 to 59 years, the prevalence of any genital HPV was 42.5% during 2013 to 2014 (men: 45.2%; women: 39.9%).[10] During the same period, the prevalence of high-risk HPV was 22.7% among adults aged 18 to 59 years (men: 25.1%; women: 20.4%). The highest prevalence of high-risk genital HPV was among non-Hispanic black males (40.3%).[10] The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that in 2018 there were 13 million new HPV infections in the US.[11] In Latin America, the prevalence of HPV infection is among the highest in the world.[12]

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