I have been in a monogamous relationship for over 2 years. Back in August 2009, my girlfriend, who is 40, had an abormal pap test. Its my understnading that she also had a positive HPV test at that time. She had follow up treatment, including a biopsy which came back negative. In December 2009, she had a follow up pap test and hpv test that came back normal / -.

Recently, she went to see her gyno and had another pap test done and I believe an HPV test also was performed. She was just told that her latest test came back abnormal / +.

The nurse or tech with whom my girlfriend spoke over the phone advised her that the HPV can only be transmitted sexually and the + result after testing begative back in December 2009 means that she was "reinfected." Now, my girlfriend thinks I may have been unfaithful to her, which aboslutely is not the case.

She is scheduled for a follow up test and a colposcopy at the end of this month. In the meantime, I am looking for an explanation for the abnormal / + test followed by a normal / - test for months later followed by a abnormal / + test approximatley 1.5 years after the first test.

Naturally, I am concerned about her health situation. However, I am also concerned about the unwarraned fears or suspicions of infidelity on my part caused by the comments from the nurse / tech and the problems this is causing in our relationship. Is it possible for an HPV infection to recur or reappear aftera negative test? I know I have been faithful and need help to remove any doubts in her mind about my fidelity.

Thanks in advance for any help or guidance.

What you're going through in your relationship is often the most difficult aspect of HPV. There's no way for us to sort out exactly what has happened in your specific case, of course, but it would not at all be unusual if the current abnormal/+ results do relate to a prior infection. So, this is not automatic proof of infidelity. Keep in mind too that HPV, even when it does clear, can take weeks, months, or years to do so. Part of the reason it might take longer in some cases is that couples may re-expose each other to the same HPV infections, and there is speculation this might delay clearance.

HPV can exist at levels below which a DNA test can detect the virus; the HPV tests used commercially aren't approved as a general means of checking infection status. Their best use is in helping health care providers assess a woman's cervical cancer risk, and they don't offer evidence about what future screenings might reveal.

I hope this helps. Post again anytime if you have more questions.

Best,
Fredo

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