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How Long Before Dry HPV Dies?

Posted on Thu, 6 Mar 2014

Question: How long before dry HPV dies?

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (1 hour later)

Brief Answer: Please, get examined for confirmation! Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for this query. I am so sorry to hear about these lesions you are suspecting to be genital warts. HPV never gets completely eradicated from the body. The immune system simply fights and contains the virus but never really completely eradicates it from the body. Because you are not certain of what the lesions are, I will suggest that you get examined by your doctor to conform what the lesions represent. If they are for sure warts caused by HPV, various treatment plans would be proposed from which you can choose. HPV would not die all by itself. No treatment can completely eradicate it. I hope this addresses your query fully. Thank you so much for patronizing our services and please do feel free to ask for follow up clarifications and information if need be. I wish him the best of health. Dr. Ditah, MD.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Chobufo Ditah (23 hours later)

When I asked 'How long before DRY HPV dies?' I was asking how long the virus can exist outside of an organism. Say for example if I had the virus on my hand and then deposited the virus on a dry surface, how long before the virus breaks down on the dry surface?

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (18 hours later)

Brief Answer: it may ie in as little as minutes Detailed Answer: Hi and thanks for following up with me. It takes as little as minutes for it to die. HPV is a virus and can only survive inside a living cell. Whenever the cell dies, the HPV dies also. This may be as little as minutes depending on the surrounding conditions. There has been no documentation of transmission by such means. if you do not get in direct contact with a lesion on some other person shedding the virus actively,, you will not contract the disease. This is to say you cannot get contaminated by an HPV virus that was deposited by some other person. Thanks and hope this answers the query fully. Thanks for the clarification as well and sorry about the mix up. Dr. Ditah, MD.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Chobufo Ditah (3 hours later)

Thank you for your comforting response. I read somewhere that it takes the virus anywhere from 1 to 3 days to 'die'. What are your thoughts on that? I would also like to know: if I removed a genital wart by picking at it, am I in danger of having the virus enter my whole system? If the virus enters the system, can it be found in saliva?

Answered by Dr. Chobufo Ditah (2 hours later)

Brief Answer: See below Detailed Answer: Viruses can only survive inside a living cells. If the environmental conditions are favorable enough to keep a cell alive, then the virus too. However, most cells do not survive that long and the virus dies. The above 1-3days are research designs and do not represent the typical world. it is simply too extreme. If you should manually manipulate warts, you can get contaminated. This virus can be detected in saliva and that's the basis of the saliva DNA assay for this condition. Hope this helps. I wish you well. Dr. Ditah, MD.

Note: Consult a Sexual Diseases Specialist online for further follow up- Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar