Aren't there something like 100+ different HPV versions out there? And won't around 80% of women/men test positive for it?
I can't remember where I read that. From what I understand though it is very very common. And out of the 100+ viruses if I remember correctly around 15 of them cause warts. The rest, are just there. *shrugs* If I recall, one doctor referred to HPV as a marker of loss of virginity.
While there are around 100 different HPV types that infect humans only around 13 or so involve the female genital tract. The rest cause plantar warts and the like. Of the 13 cancer causing types two of them - types 16 and 18 - cause around 2/3 of all cervical cancers. None of the vaccines currently being tested are active against all 13 types but only the most common ones.
As to the commonness of HPV, well over half of all reproductive age women are infected at one time or another, although most will clear the infection spontaneously.