What are the different types of HPV?

I consantly hear that there are many types of HPV and that 50% of sexual active people have some sort of it. Is there a type of HPV that causes no symptoms? I doubt that 50% of the population has genital warts. Also, the virus stays in a persons body for a lifetime.. whether the warts come out or not is a different story. I don't know why people say it takes 2 years for your body gets rid of the virus..

There are actually more than 100 types of HPV. They can cause warts on your feet, hands, and face. About 40 are considered STDs. Some of those cause genital warts, some cause cancer.

MORE than 50% of the sexually active population have it. If you test people in their early 20s, 40-50% will test postive. The amount who will test positive decreases with age because most people fight off or "clear" the virus and it is reduced to indectable levels in their bodies. It's not known whether you can continue spreading HPV once it has "cleared" your system. I would guess that you CAN still spread it, simply because HPV is so common.

there are over 120 different strains of the HPV virus. some cause warts regular skin, plantar, etc. some cause genital warts. Other strains of HPV cause cervical abnormalities such as abnormal cervical cells which sometimes can develop into more serious problems such as cervical dysplasia and cancer. The HPV virus lies dormant until it is triggered usually by stress or poor diet. It is unclear whether HPV goes away completely. A recent study used special lab tests to check women for HPV. Of the women who had HPV at their first study visit, 90% tested negative 6 months to 2 years later. Most researchers think this means that HPV does go away for most people.

However, if you come in contact with another type of HPV, you can become infected again.

As the others said, there are many strains. Some HPV strains do not show symptoms or may not show them immediately. The virus is generally acknowledged to stay in the body but most healthy people can "clear" it in under 2 years.That means the immune system keeps it suppressed to the point that symptom no longer appear and the virus is unlikely to be transmitted. That may change if an individual's immune system functions are reduced.

If you want to know more about the cold sore and the genital warts causing types, there is more at the link