How long does HPV stay?

This lesson is part of the WARTES HPV Masterclass. Preview: the first part of the narration.

I often hear two questions from my patients. One is: "Doctor, my HPV test came back negative. Is the virus completely gone?" The other is: "Last year my test was negative, and this year it is positive again. Did I catch the virus again?" To answer these questions, we first need to understand how an HPV test works.

Most HPV tests work with a method called PCR. The laboratory looks for the genetic material of HPV in the sample, and copies it again and again until it becomes visible. But every test has a detection limit. If the amount of virus in the sample is below this limit, the test may not see it.

When you look at the night sky, there are stars you cannot see with your eyes. Not seeing them does not mean they are not there. An HPV test is a little like that. A negative result means that HPV was not detected in the sample.

The virus may truly have been cleared from the area where it settled, or its amount may be too small for the test to see. In most people who meet HPV, the infection can no longer be detected on tests within 1 or 2 years.

So is the virus completely cleared from the area where it settled?

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