The case of a young woman whose doctor says she may have been infected with genital warts (condylomas) through a shared computer mouse in her office, has caused some alarm in Taiwan after being reported in the Chinese language media.
Doctors, however, do not agree that condyloma can be passed through indirect contact.
Ho I-chen (
Ho's suggestion was reported by Taiwan's media on Monday evening and has provoked anxiety about the possibility of being infected by ordinary contact with commonly shared objects.
Genital warts are caused by viruses of the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. They are raised and visible with a cauliflower-like appearance and form on the internal or external genitalia, perineum, or perianal region. Genital warts are spread by sexual contact with an infected partner and are highly contagious.
Some viruses that cause genital warts can also cause cervical cancer. Ho said that females infected with genital warts are roughly three times more likely to suffer from cervical cancer than those without genital warts. Genital warts can also enlarge during pregnancy to cause difficulties with urination, while those on the vaginal wall can make the vagina less elastic and cause delivery obstruction.
Ho yesterday said, however, that the risk of indirect contact with an infected person causing the transmission of condylomas is small. "Transmission through office equipment is rare as these viruses cannot live long without the proteins of human cells." He said the viruses could survive on dry surfaces for only 30 seconds.
"But if the infected person has left body fluid from the warts on a shared item, it increases the chance of the next user of that object being infected. The viruses can stay alive in the cell-containing fluid for several minutes," Ho said.
"Most of all, one should be careful about sexual encounters with infected persons in order to avoid infection," he said.
Ho said that washing one's hands before and after visiting a public restroom was also vital.
"By washing, the uninfected could get rid of viruses passed on to their hands through contact with shared objects, such as doorknobs of restrooms. Otherwise, hand contact with viruses can transfer the viruses to the genitals," he said.
"The infected person should also seek medical treatment to avoid transmission of the infection. They should wash their hands after going to the bathroom to avoid leaving viruses transmitted from the hands after touching the genitals in the bathroom," Ho said.
He said automatic faucets should be widely adopted in public restrooms to prevent transmission.
Wang Yo-li (
Wang said sufferers of genital warts may not be honest with their doctor about their actual sexual activities and sometimes female sufferers do not even know that their partner has been infected because the infection can causet very minor symptoms in men.
"We should place more emphasis on avoiding multiple partners to reduce infection from the most clearly identified means rather than stressing means of transmission about which we are not certain," said Wang.
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