Almost 90% of people will have HPV at some point in their lives.
There are over 100 types of HPV, and some are more serious than others. While certain strains of the virus are associated with cervical cancer, they can also cause other cancers like head and neck, anal or penile cancer.
From the end of March, Ireland will become one of the first countries to roll out HPV testing as part of the cervical screening programme. This means that all samples will now be checked for HPV rather than only looking at cells. Previously, only those with abnormal cells were tested for HPV.
Dr Doireann O'Leary, GP at mycorkgp and health blogger, joined us for our weekly medical consultation to discuss these changes and the importance of the HPV vaccine.
Listen to the interview in full by pressing the play button on this page.
