You Go for Your Regular Pap Test and Are Informed

Multiple Choice

You go for your regular Pap test and are informed by your OBGYN that you are positive for HPV16. You are surprised because you have not noticed any signs or symptoms of infection. Your doctor explains that sexually transmitted HPV strains are among the most common of the STI agents, and that while some HPV strains cause warty growths of the external and internal genitalia, other strains cause non-warty lesions of mucosal surfaces such as the uterine cervix. These strains are of concern because they are a major factor in the development of cervical cancer. You ask your doctor a number of questions regarding HPV and HPV infection.
-I know HPV is sexually transmitted, but my male partner knows he is HPV positive, so always wears a condom whenever we have sex. I am not sure how I contracted this virus. How can this be explained?

A) Condoms prevent the transmission of bacterial pathogens but do not protect against viral diseases because viruses are small enough to get through the latex.
B) Condoms do not provide complete protection against HPV because the virus can be transmitted by exposure to areas not covered by the condom.
C) Only latex condoms prevent the transmission of HPV because there are medications in the latex that destroy viruses. Other types of condoms lack these medications.
D) Condoms are never an effective way of preventing transmission of viruses. People who avoid HPV infections take daily doses of antiviral medications as long as they are sexually active.
E) Condoms are never an effective way of preventing transmission of viruses. People who avoid HPV infections take daily doses of prophylactic antibiotics as long as they are sexually active.