Men get HPV (human papillomavirus) through sexual contact, most commonly during vaginal or anal sex with someone who carries the virus. It also spreads through close skin-to-skin touching during sex, which means penetration isn’t strictly necessary for transmission. Nearly half of all men in the U.S. are infected with some form of genital HPV at any given time, making it the most common sexually transmitted infection by a wide margin.
How HPV Spreads to Men
HPV is transmitted through vaginal, anal, or oral sex. Vaginal and anal sex are the most common routes, but oral sex can also transmit the virus to the mouth and throat. Unlike many STIs that require the exchange of bodily fluids, HPV lives in skin cells and passes from one person to another through direct skin-to-skin contact. This means areas not covered by a condom can still transmit the virus.
Most people who carry HPV have no symptoms, so neither partner typically knows the virus is being passed. There’s no way to tell by looking at someone whether they have HPV, and many men carry and transmit it without ever developing warts or any other visible sign of infection.
How Common HPV Is in Men
CDC data from a national survey found that 45.2% of men aged 18 to 59 tested positive for genital HPV, compared with 39.9% of women in the same age group. About 25% of men carried high-risk strains, the types linked to cancer. These numbers reflect a single point in time, so the lifetime likelihood of encountering HPV at some point is even higher.
The virus is so widespread that most sexually active people will contract at least one strain during their lives. Having just one or two lifetime partners still carries real risk, though the probability increases with more partners.
What Raises Your Risk
The single biggest risk factor is the number of sexual partners you’ve had over your lifetime. More partners means more opportunities for exposure to different HPV strains. Men who have sex with men face a particularly elevated risk for anal HPV infection, which can lead to anal cancer over time.
A weakened immune system also matters. Men living with HIV or taking immunosuppressive medications have a harder time clearing HPV once infected, which increases the chance of the virus persisting long enough to cause problems.
Circumcision doesn’t affect whether a man picks up the virus in the first place, but it does influence how quickly the body clears it. Research published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases found that HPV infections on the head of the penis lasted a median of 154 days in uncircumcised men compared with 91 days in circumcised men. Uncircumcised men cleared cancer-causing HPV strains at roughly one-third the rate of circumcised men. The warm, moist environment under the foreskin likely gives the virus a better foothold to persist.
How Long Infections Last
Most HPV infections in men are temporary. The immune system typically suppresses the virus without any treatment. For oral HPV, the median duration of infection is about 7 months, and most newly acquired infections clear within a year. Genital infections follow a similar pattern, with the majority resolving within one to two years.
The danger comes from infections that don’t clear. When a high-risk HPV strain persists for years, it can cause cellular changes that eventually lead to cancer of the throat, anus, or penis. These outcomes are uncommon relative to the total number of infections, but they’re the reason prevention matters.
Why There’s No HPV Test for Men
One of the most frustrating aspects of HPV in men is the lack of a routine screening test. The HPV tests that exist are only FDA-cleared for use on cervical samples. There is no approved test to check for HPV on the penis, in the mouth, or in the anal canal as part of routine care.
Some specialized clinics offer anal pap smears for men at higher risk, particularly men living with HIV or men who have receptive anal sex. But even this test has significant limitations, with sensitivity ranging from 55% to 89%. Standard HPV DNA tests aren’t useful for anal screening either, because the virus is so common in high-risk groups that a positive result doesn’t meaningfully distinguish who will develop cancer from who won’t. In practice, most men only learn they have HPV when genital warts appear or, far less commonly, when a cancer is diagnosed.
How Condoms Help (and Their Limits)
Condoms reduce HPV risk but don’t eliminate it. A large study of men found that those who always used condoms had an HPV prevalence of 37.9%, compared with 53.9% among men who never used them. Consistent condom use cut the odds of detecting HPV by about half overall. Among men with more than one partner, always using condoms lowered the risk of infection by 78%.
The gap between “reduced risk” and “eliminated risk” exists because HPV infects skin that condoms don’t cover, including the base of the penis, the scrotum, and the inner thighs. Still, the data clearly shows that consistent use makes a meaningful difference, especially for men with multiple partners.
The HPV Vaccine for Men
Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent HPV. The CDC recommends the vaccine for all children at age 11 or 12 (it can start as early as 9) and for anyone through age 26 who wasn’t adequately vaccinated earlier. The vaccine protects against the HPV strains responsible for most genital warts and HPV-related cancers.
If you start the series before age 15, you need two doses spaced 6 to 12 months apart. Starting at 15 or older requires three doses over six months. Adults between 27 and 45 can also get vaccinated on a three-dose schedule after discussing it with their provider, though the benefit is smaller because most people in that age range have already been exposed to common strains.
The vaccine works best before any exposure to HPV, which is why it’s recommended so early. But even if you’ve already been infected with one strain, the vaccine still protects against the others it covers. Getting vaccinated after becoming sexually active isn’t pointless; it just offers less total protection than getting it beforehand.