Nearly half of American men and women under 60 are infected with the human papillomavirus, or HPV, putting them at risk for certain cancers, federal health officials reported Thursday.
More than 45 percent of men were infected with genital HPV in 2013-2014, while 25 percent were infected with high-risk genital HPV. At the same time, about 40 percent of women carried genital HPV, while almost 20 percent had high-risk genital HPV, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some types of HPV can cause genital warts and are considered low risk, with a small chance for causing cancer, the CDC report said. Other types are believed to be high risk and can cause cancer in different parts of the body. Those areas include the cervix and vagina in women, the penis in men, and the anus and neck in both genders.
