Question
Can ARVs protect me from HPV?
3 December 2007. Related: All topics, Opportunistic infections.
I recently had sex with someone who is being treated for HPV but has no visable signs of warts. Can Truvada (or Sustiva) help protect me from this virus?
Answer
Unfortunately the antiretrovirals do not provide protection against HPV. They are sometimes used as a post-exposure prophylaxis, but against HIV.
There is a vaccine against HPV, but it protects only women. Recently a new vaccine, called Gardasil, has been shown to provide 100% protection against the development of pre-cancerous cervical and vulval lesions caused by HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 in women not previously infected with HPV.
Gardasil is licensed in Europe for children and adolescents aged 9 to 15 and women aged 16 to 26 for prevention of cervical cancer and other cellular changes associated with HPV infection, including genital warts.
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