Pediatria pre prax 6/2010

Genital warts in children and adolescents

Genital warts (anogenital warts, condylomata acuminata) are causally related to the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. This virus may cause different proliferative cutaneous and mucous lesions, e.g. skin warts, benign and malignant lesions of genital tract, oral papillomas as well as life threatening papillomatosis of the respiratory tract. At most people HPV infection is transitory and clears within 2 years. Several factors play role in HPV infection progression: individual susceptibility, immune status, nutrition, endogenous and exogenous hormones, smoking, concomittant infection with other sexually transmitted microorganisms as well as the HPV virus characteristics: type, concomittant infection with more types, number of virions, mutual cooperation of more HPV types (1). Today we know more than 100 HPV genotypes, 40 of them infecting anogenital region. Oncogenicly usually low risk types can cause wart-like tumours of the skin and mucous membranes of the genital region, 90 % of genital warts cases are caused by low-risk types 6 and 11.

Keywords: genital warts, children and adolescents, human papilloma virus, vaccination.