How long does the virus HPV stay dormant?

Answer 1

It can take months and even years after being infected before a person shows any signs of the virus. Some people will never show any signs or symptoms of the virus.

I've personally had HPV for over 6 years now. I was diagnosed with it when I had abnormalities on my cervix. Then, about 5 years later, I developed genital warts from it. If I hadn't went in for that pap smear when I was diagnosed I probably would have went years without realizing I had HPV!

Take care!

Answer 2

The official answer is it may remain dormant for months, years or life.

Look around the references on the web and you find this over and over.

BUT, and this is a very big BUT,
there is mounting research and serious debate about the basis of this which may change everything dramatically.

The argument is being made that the claim that HPV stays in the body dormant is based solely on previous doctors saying so without any real research.

The findings in real research may well indicate that the HPV virus is actually cleared within about 6 weeks of infection, and the later appearances are not reactivation of HPV but new infections.

Further, and perhaps more importantly, research may reveal that HPV is actually contracted from inanimate objects (fomites), and from person to person contact, particularly medical instruments and personnel who are infected, rather than only by sexual contact.

Research indicates:
1. The virus is cleared quickly
2. Reinfection is easy and frequent that does not require sexual transmission.

If these claims are correct, which are discussed below in the reference, a sea change in the way we view HPV and the Cervical Cancer produced by it is going to take place.

Your question is an important one. It takes a long time for "Medicine" the establishment to admit something is as it has stated before as"written in stone" is flat out wrong.

For example it took years for the mainstream declaration that bacteria (H. Pylori as it turned out) were related to peptic ulcer, even in the face of glaring epidemiological evidence that an infectious agent was the cause.

So watch the news for further developments on this topic, and do not be at all surprised if the arguments based on interpretation of the actual research below turns out to be correct in part or entirely.

Answer 3

HPV will always be with you. While it may not always be evident, it will always be in your cells. Your immune surveillance system often can fight off a flare up. But not always. When pregnant (if you can become due to PCO) of otherwise immunosuppressed by illness or medicine you can experience an outbreak. HPV is significant in some women developing cervical cancer. It is too late for you to receive the vaccine. You should have regular gynecologic care with pap smears. Also practice safe sex. You will be protecting your partner from HPV and protecting yourself from potential disease from your partner. Why do you want to tell your family?