I was just diagnosed today with HPV. I’m wondering about the HPV vaccine. If someone has HPV already, will the vaccine prevent future outbreaks?

It depends on the type(s) of HPV (human papilloma virus) a person has.

In 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a vaccine, Gardasil, that protects against four of the 40 types of HPV that are sexually transmitted. Two of the types, 6 and 11, are the ones that cause 90 percent of the outbreaks of genital warts. The two others, 16 and 18, cause 70 percent of cases of cancer of the cervix. They are also associated with cancers of the vulva, penis, anus, or throat.

There is no clear evidence that the vaccine will protect an already infected person. Because, however, a person may be infected with one of the HPV types covered by the vaccine but not with another, the vaccine will protect against the HPV type(s) that a person does not already have. The new vaccine does not offer protection against all the types of HPV that cause cervical cancer. So sexually active women are urged to continue to have regular Pap smear tests; a test that detects cervical cancer in its early, treatable stages.