As you can see on the left side of this screen, the normal epithelium on the cervix is a squamous epithelium, and that this is highly susceptible to infections with this sexually transmitted disease and it takes months. In other words, if you have sexual contact with a woman or a man that has this virus you will likely get it. It is very different than HIV. HIV is very difficult to get. HPV is very easy to get, and it happens quickly over a few weeks or even months. And then what happens, generally most women or men get over the infection, in fact never knew they had it. But a few people, over years, become persistently infected, and that is the key. Because those persistent infections increase the risk of cervical pre cancer or dysplasia or intraepithelial neoplasia, and it is that long lead time that allows us to find the pre cancerous lesions and treat them. So it is all about persistent infections.
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