Campus health professionals and students who counsel their peers on sexual safety identify genital warts as the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease on college campuses today. As many as 20 percent of Brandeis female students could be infected, reports Sioban Mclaughlin, a nurse practitioner at the University Health Center.McLaughlin specializes in gynecology, performing pap smears on female students who request the procedure. She said about one in seven people tested are infected with genital warts, also known as the human papillomavirus, or HPV.

According to the National Institutes of Health, 20 million people in the United States are infected with HPV. An additional 5.5 million new cases of sexually transmitted HPV infections are reported every year.

Tristin Klein '05, who has worked as a counselor for Student Sexual Information Services (SSIS) for three years, called HPV the "biggest STD issue on campus" of which "people should be most cognizant."

"There is no cure for HPV," Klein said. "It's the most prevalent STD on campus, yet it's also the most easily avoided."

One Brandeis sophomore, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was shocked to discover that she had HPV when she went to the gynecologist for a routine pap smear. She had only had unprotected sex with one person, who was her boyfriend.

"I still can't believe I have it," she said. "I still haven't shown any symptoms, but I tested positive, which means I'm a carrier. STDs just seem like something that happen to people who are careless, and I'm not."

It seems that she is not alone. McLaughlin spoke about one case of a female student who came in for treatment of a severe external outbreak of genital warts. She only had sex once and did not develop symptoms until six months later.

"I think that's really sad," McLaughlin said. "It shows you how you need to be careful at all times. This girl had only one partner but did not use a condom, and now she'll be affected forever."

McLaughlin said that HPV is "absolutely the most common STD" that she sees on campus, but added that she periodically diagnoses various others, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. According to Tom Cox, Director of the Women's Center Student Health Services at the University of California at Santa Barbara, "approximately one-quarter of college women are positive for HPV at any point in time."

According to McLaughlin, Brandeis' Health Center used to test all students receiving pap smears for both chlamydia and gonorrhea, but dropped this practice in recent years. She finds no reason for renewing the policy since neither STD has been detected in a patient who had not previously exhibited common symptoms. Less testing also results in time and money savings and simplifies the insurance process.

Normally, the only visible symptoms of HPV are papillomas, benign growths that resemble warts and are found usually around the vagina, vulva, penis and anal area-especially among men who have sex with other men.

A significant percentage of people infected with the virus never develop symptoms; this heightens the probability that infected individuals will spread the virus to sexual partners unknowingly.

The Argus, Wesleyan University's student newspaper, reported in 2001 that roughly 5 to 10 percent of males students there test positive for HPV, and that the number for women is "fewer than 10 percent." The numbers are lower than Brandeis' but still high.

Unlike other STDs, HPV is not usually detrimental to human health, but some forms of HPV increase women's risk for cervical cancer. McLaughlin said that 90 percent of cervical cancer cases are caused by HPV. Accordingly, doctors stress the importance of regular gynecological examinations, especially following HPV diagnosis.

There is currently no cure for HPV. There are several treatment options that help reduce symptoms so that they are no longer visible. However, the virus still infects the body and can cause warts to reappear after removal.

McLaughlin said she always has the same advice for how to avoid contracting STDs.

"Condoms, condoms, condoms," McLaughlin said. "They are the only things that greatly decrease a person's risk."

But she added the greatest risk factor for STDs is having multiple sexual partners. Genital warts can be acquired without exchanging bodily fluids. Any contact with an infected area can result in acquisition of the virus, so even the use of protection does no ensure prevention.

McLaughlin also said women should schedule regular gynecological exams. Doctors recommend annual pap smears for all women who are sexually active or over the age of 18. In addition, both males and females should be tested for STDs when beginning new relationships or when experiencing related pain or discomfort.

SSIS counselor Emily Robinson '07 said SSIS is the best resource for information on HPV. She cited their extensive training and wealth of informative resources as reasons for visiting SSIS. She also reported that some students say the health center is "not necessarily confidential or easy to work with," referring to the fact that all health center sessions must be recorded, while SSIS counselors offer anonymous service.

"I think we're a very valuable resource," Robinson said. "The thing that makes us so much different is that we're peers and we come from a peer perspective. It's a view that is peer-related, as well as objective."

Medical professionals' continual emphasis on abstinence and protection can seem hackneyed and prudish to some, but as McLaughlin lamented, students often regret past decisions rather than preparing themselves from the start.

"When I talk about using protection, I see students' eyes gloss over," she said. "But when I have to tell them they have an STD, I suddenly have their full attention. I wish it were the opposite way-that students would exercise more caution from the beginning.