There are certain difficulties when trying to determine whether a woman has been infected with HPV or not. If we find inflammation and detect the virus, then we are certain she has. However, even if we do not find any HPV DNA, we cannot confirm that there never was an infection. The question whether HPV remains with us throughout our life or not has not been answered yet.
It is believed that our body can suppress the inflammation, but it cannot “get rid” of the virus as easily…
After our body suppresses the inflammation, HPV remains in the basement membrane cells and multiplies in parallel to cellular divisions. It is suppressed on a local level (cellular immunity), but we do not have high levels of antibodies. The HPV may manage at some point to deceive the local cellular immunity, flare up and cause inflammation of the cells. We see this in cases of women who have had no recent sexual activity but yet have recurrences of the infection. It is a more frequent phenomenon in women who have been taking medications that suppress the immune system (cortisone, immunosuppressants) for a long time.
