Hi there,

I've had two HPV tests before. The first one the swab was done over the suspectied infected area. All negative.

My recent one was done as a urethal swab as the doctor did not agree that there were visable signs of warts elewhere. All negative

My question is - is a urethal swab a proper way to test for HPV? Can I be confident that the test results are accurate? Does this indicate I do not have HPV anywhere else on my skin (groin, testicals, buttocks etc)?

Thanks.

[Dr Jose]

Hello,
Thank you for your post.
The PCR swab for HPV is a highly sensitive and reliable test to detect the presence of HPV, but only on the area where the swab was taken. If you had a negative swab in the urethra, this would indicate that you do not have HPV in the urethra only, and would not exclude the presence of HPV somewhere else.
Best wishes,
José

Thanks Dr Jose.

Can I ask - when you have a HPV test why don't they swab around all the possible infected areas? Is it because to get accurate samples you would need an individual swab from each area, which would amount to many swabs and it being very costly?

I'm disappointed that I can't say for sure that i don't have HPV AT ALL after having this test (with the urethral swab). Can you advise if there was a way I COULD say for sure, without having multiple swabs as described above. Maybe just one more swab?

p.s. - I've had different sexual partners between the two tests.

Thanks

[Dr Jose]

Most people who are sexually active and have had more than on sexual partner carry one or more strains of HPV. The main clinical implications are in the case of high risk strains that could potentially cause cervical or anal cancers. Therefore sexually active women should have regular cervical smear and HPV tests regardless; same would apply to people who practice receptive anal sex, as they should have anal smears and HPV tests regularly. Low risk HPV strains could potentially cause genital warts and these can easily be treated. Therefore in your case we can confirm that you do not have HPV in your urethra. For different areas one would have to do different swabs. However one cannot be completely sure of having covered every single bit of one's anatomy. Negative results are certainly reassuring. If I were you I would not worry as HPV is common and endemic in sexually active individuals and there is nothing you can do anyway to erradicate the virus in the event of carrying it. I assume that you have never had genital warts.
Best wishes,
José