Merck officials said they decided to run the new commercials because market research the company conducted last year showed that while 85 percent of parents were familiar with HPV, only 50 percent were aware of its link to cancer.

Ancestral forms of HPV16 lineages have most likely infected all archaic human populations at least since Homo erectus in Africa. When Neanderthal and Denisovan populations diverged exclusively in Eurasia some 400,000 – 800,000 years ago they carried a sample of HPV16 variants, which evolved into the HPV16A lineage.

Why don't antibiotics work? – HPV is a viral infection, which cannot be treated by medication designed for bacterial infections. There are currently no antiviral medications that have been clinically approved to treat HPV.

Scientists developed the first HPV vaccine In the early years, Dr. Jian Zhou and Dr. Ian Frazer created “virus-like particles” that mimicked HPV. The vaccine is composed of these particles, which do not contain any of the DNA, and can't cause an HPV infection or a cancer.

you can have HPV for a long time without ever knowing it, finding out you have HPV doesn't mean you or your partner have been unfaithful. it is difficult to know who gave you HPV, both because the virus is so common and because it can remain dormant in cells for more than 10 years before becoming active.

This is also the reason why the HPV virus is so contagious through casual contact. If it leaves the host body, the HPV virus will die if the outside temperature exceeds 60 degrees Celsius.

HPV can clear up naturally – as there is no cure for the underlying HPV infection, the only way to get rid of HPV is to wait for the immune system to clear the virus naturally.

Males and females ages 9 to 45 can get the vaccine In fact, patients 15 and older should receive three shots over the course of six months to receive the same benefit. The bottom line: All males and females ages 9–26 should get the HPV vaccine. It is most effective when given at ages 11–12.

Since 2016, Gardasil has been the only HPV vaccine in use in the US and over people received 28 million doses in the country between 2014 and 2017, reducing people's chances of contracting cancer. Merck & Co. developed Gardasil to protect against cervical cancer and other cancers caused by HPV.

HPV gets its name from papillomas, or warts, a common symptom of some HPV infections. There are more than 100 different types of HPV, each of which is assigned a number (called the HPV type). The various types of HPV fall into two main categories: Cutaneous HPV, which affects the skin.

Scientists developed the first HPV vaccine Jian Zhou and Dr. Ian Frazer created “virus-like particles” that mimicked HPV. The vaccine is composed of these particles, which do not contain any of the DNA, and can't cause an HPV infection or a cancer.

Warts are caused by a virus that cannot survive in very hot temperatures, above about 110°F (43.3°C). Your skin usually burns above about 115°F (46.1°C). Exposing a wart to heat (hyperthermia) above 110°F but below 115°F will kill the virus without hurting your skin.