14 DAY TRIAL // You surely won't be happy to see this on your sex partner.
Genital warts often occur in clusters and can be very tiny or spread into large masses on the genital or penis area.
Women can have genital warts occuring outside and inside of the vagina, on the opening (cervix) to the womb (uterus), or around the anus.
In case of men, they are usually seen on the tip of the penis, but also on the shaft of the penis, on the scrotum, or around the anus.
Oral sex can transmit the warts in the mouth or throat of a person.
The warts are a highly contagious sexually transmitted infection determined by human papillomavirus (HPV). There are multiple strains of genital HPV that induce genital warts.
In 2003, about 4 % of the Australian people had had visible genital warts.
HPV is also the main cause of cervical cancer.
A novel vaccine for genital warts could be produced after a new medical investigation in Brisbane. The clinical trial treating the papillomaviruses has reached the halfway mark, as stated by Professor Ian Frazer and trial manager, sexual health specialist Dr David Jardine.
The trial involved over 200 patients in China and Australia and was run at the Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital. "The new treatment has so far proven safe, and we want to know if it improves the outcome after conventional therapy, which all patients also receive," said Jardine.
The team employed a tweaked variant of a cervical cancer vaccine developed by Frazer. "Conducting trials in Australia gives Australians the chance to help develop new treatments. Should the product under trial be effective, it also gives them the chance to be amongst the first to benefit", said Frazer.
The new vaccine would complement both the Pap smear program and other currently available vaccines against this infection.