Abstract: Human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most common sexually transmitted viruses. HPV causes a variety of pathological changes after infection in female genital tract. The high infection rate and high pathogenicity of HPV seriously endanger female reproductive health. The common clinical manifestations mainly include transient infection, genital warts, vulvar intraepithelial neoplasia, vulvar cancer, cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer. In recent years, with the introduction of HPV preventive vaccines, the incidences of HPV infection and related diseases have been greatly reduced. For the cervical lesions caused by HPV16/18, the prevention rate of 2- and 4-valent vaccines can reach 100%. Only a small number of people have dizziness, headache, nausea and adverse reactions at the inoculation site after vaccination. The safety and effectiveness of HPV vaccines have been confirmed. We briefly review the pathological changes related with HPV infection in female genital tract, the significance of HPV screening and the application status of HPV vaccines.

Key words: Papillomaviridae, Papillomavirus vaccines, Genital diseases, female, Pregnancy outcome