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From a physician... 1. HPV has been around forever. We now understand that is an STD. 2. Molecular diagnostics, including DNA testing, is quite new on the scene. The usual approach is to amplify the DNA using some form of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)--a technique that earned its discoverer the Nobel Prize. 3. The amplification technique allows reliable discrimination among the various strains of HPV. The strains are split into high risk and low risk. Please see this official US government site at the CDC link. You will be surprised to learn that 3/10 women in your age group are positive for a high risk HPV. Around half of women will have a genital HPV infection in their lifetime. Swingers can assume they carry HPV until proven otherwise. Folks in casual relationships can assume they carry HPV until proven otherwise. People in long-term monogamous relationships have a reasonable probability of being HPV positive. Again, look at the data. The problem is not HPV infection per se. It is that HPV predisposes to cancer. We now believe that nearly all cervical cancers are HPV-related. Your responsibility is to follow the recommendations of an OB/GYN you trust. S/he will increase surveillance with more frequent examinations and Pap smears. If you have persistently abnormal Pap smears, s/he will recommend a biopsy in the form of LEEP or a cold conization. This is a routine office procedure and leaves you uncomfortable for maybe 24 hours. None of this is new. The more scary aspects of HPV infection surround the rise in oral cancers. I have two professional colleagues--one a distinguished surgeon, the other a distinguished researcher--who at relatively young ages (late 40's/early 60's) -- developed oral cancers in the past 3 years. Neither of them ever smoked. Both were HPV positive. One is now disease-free, the other is in hospice care and will not see Christmas. The latter was in denial about a change is his exam and sought medical advice late. There really is an uptick in HPV+ oral cancers. Dentists are looking carefully during regular oral exam/tooth cleaning sessions and referring to appropriate physicians. Bottom line, HPV is really quite common. Cancers from HPV, while rare, are important to detect and treat.