Rare diseases · Sign or symptom
Persistent human papillomavirus infection
HP:0020114
What it means
Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are small oncogenic viruses. HPV has been shown to cause a variety of lesions and malignancies, which predominantly affect the anogenital region. Low-risk, non-oncogenic HPV types are associated with anogenital warts and recurrent respiratory papillomatosis while high-risk, oncogenic types are associated with cervical, penile, anal, vaginal, vulvar, and oropharyngeal cancers. Infection with anogenital HPV is usually asymptomatic and resolves spontaneously without consequences in the immunocompetent host. When disease does occur, the most common manifestation is genital warts, which may be small papules, or flat, smooth or pedunculated lesions. This resolution of HPV lesions is not generally seen in the immunosuppressed, resulting in severe, persistent and extensive manifestations of HPV disease.
Rare diseases that can present with this2
The range is how often this sign appears among people diagnosed with each disease — it is not a probability of having any of them. Many of these signs also occur in common, non-rare conditions. A sign on this page is a conversation to have with a clinician, not a conclusion.
Part of the broader category
Also called: Chronic HPV infection · Persistent HPV infection
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Start free with EleplanThis page uses the Human Phenotype Ontology (2026-06-23) — Human Phenotype Ontology Consortium, hpo.jax.org. Disease associations from Orphanet (INSERM), CC BY 4.0. Content is educational and is not medical advice.