Do I need to tell my partner? This is entirely your decision. Most men and women with HPV infection carry the infection without ever being aware of it. HPV infection does not need to be treated and in 95% cases, you would get rid of it through your immunity.

Should you disclose genital warts?

Its best to disclose before sexual contact — any sexual contact. Herpes and HPV are both transmitted by skin-to-skin contact, which means that simply rubbing genitals together, even without penetration, can pass the virus from one person to another. Both of these viruses can also be transmitted by oral sex.

How long are genital warts contagious for?

That is, genetic material persists in previously infected tissues for a long time. “If you had genital warts and theyve cleared up even on their own or with treatment and another three to six months go by, probably, for the most part, youre not going to transmit them,” says Handfield.