Infections of the Reproductive Tract Quiz

See Anogenital Warts. Option C is correct. Anogenital warts are a very common viral sexually transmitted infection caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), and the strains responsible are types 6 and 11. These are low-risk types: they make the skin cells multiply into benign (non-cancerous) growths but do not usually lead to cancer. The warts are typically painless, appear on the penis or vulva (and can also affect the vagina, cervix and the skin around the anus), and the virus can be passed on even when no warts can be seen. The current HPV vaccine protects against types 6 and 11, and also against types 16 and 18, which are the high-risk types that cause cervical cancer. Treatment options are to leave the warts alone, or to use topical creams or freezing (cryotherapy), but removing the warts does not clear the virus, so they can come back for up to two years, after which most people clear the infection. The exam trap is mixing up the low-risk wart types (6 and 11) with the high-risk cancer types (16 and 18).

• Cause: human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6 and 11.
• Risk level: these are low-risk types that cause benign growths and do not usually lead to cancer.
• Cancer types: types 16 and 18 are the high-risk types behind cervical cancer, and the vaccine covers them as well as 6 and 11.