Venereal warts are sexually transmitted diseases that infect the anal and genital areas. They usually spread from person to person by sexual contact. They can also spread from inanimate objects, such as a shared bath towel. Approximately two-thirds of people who have sexual contact with a partner with genital warts will develop warts, usually within three months of contact. Scientists estimate that as many as 1 million new cases of anal and genital warts are diagnosed in the United States each year. There are two types of venereal warts, condyloma accuminatum and condyloma latum.
Condyloma accuminatum are pink to whitish growths that occur on the anus and genitalia as a result of infection with the papilloma virus. The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is one of the most common viral sexually transmitted diseases (STD) in the United States today. As many as one in five American adults has a genital HPV infection. They occur on the penis, the vagina, the anus, and rarely, the mouth. In the anal area they may be mistaken for hemorrhoids. They are spread by contact with the wart, which actively sheds viral particles. They grow geometrically and may become extensive. (Warts on other parts of the body, such as the hands, are caused by different types of HPV. Contact with these warts does not seem to cause genital warts.)
