Close Contact With an Infected Person
HPV DNA has also been recovered in virgins. This means that HPV can infect via non-sexual routes too. Persons who come in close contact with the patient, including
- Nurses, doctors and other health care workers who might come in contact during the treatment of HPV related concerns of the patients. This is called occupational exposure to HPV. Prophylactic vaccination is suggested for health care workers by some researchers to break the cycle of viral spread.
- Sport players: a lot of sports involve a lot of physical contact. This includes rugby, wrestling, boxing etc. The close contact during these activities can become a source of infection.
- Swimmers: the public swimming pools can harvest the virus. This waterborne transmission is poorly documented, but the HPV DNA has been isolated from the water. The chlorination of water can kill the virus. However, it still remains a risk in a non-disinfected water.