Replies

After reading the media reports, I decided to check the CDC for specific information. As you suspected, the 80% figure is media hype and I'm glad I reviewed the information.
From the CDC:

"Approximately 20 million Americans 15 to 49 years of
age (approximately 15% of the population) are currently infected with HPV.[5] Others may have been infected in the past and may no longer have the virus. About half of those who are infected with HPV are sexually active adolescents and young adults 15 to 24 years of age.[5] Between 5% and 30% of individuals infected with HPV are infected with multiple types of HPV.[6] Each year, about 6.2 million people in the U.S. become newly infected.[1]"

Citations:

1. Weinstock H, Berman S, Cates
W, Jr. Sexually transmitted diseases
among American youth: incidence
and prevalence estimates, 2000.
Perspect Sex Reprod Health. Jan-Feb
2004;36(1):6-10.

5. Cates W, Jr. Estimates of the
incidence and prevalence of sexually
transmitted diseases in the United
States. American Social Health
Association Panel. Sex Transm Dis.
1999;26(4):Suppl:S2-7.

6. Revzina NV, Diclemente RJ.
Prevalence and incidence of human
papillomavirus infection in women in
the USA: a systematic review. Int J
STD AIDS. 2005;16(8):528-537.

I also saw this little gem for those who believe that chastity is a foolproof preventative. I don't know if they mean 2% of infections are in virgin girls, or 2% of the virgin girls are infected (my guess). Either way, infections are occurring in virgins, although rare:

"Genital HPV infections are uncommon in women reporting
no previous sexual intercourse, appearing in less than 2% of
this population.[13, 14, 15]"

13. Winer RL, Lee SK, Hughes JP,
et al. Genital human papillomavirus
infection: incidence and risk factors
in a cohort of female university
students. Am J Epidemiol.
2003;157(3):218-226.

14. Rylander E, Ruusuvaara L,
Almstromer MW. The absence of
vaginal human papillomavirus 16 DNA
in women who have not experienced
sexual intercourse. Obstet Gynecol.
1994;83(5 Pt 1):735-737.

15. Kjaer S, Chackerian B, van de
Brule A, et al. High-risk human
papillomavirus is sexually transmitted:
evidence from a follow-up study
of virgins starting sexual activity.
Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev.
2001;10(2):101-106.

I agree that the use of statistical sampling is important for extrapolating to the whole population. However, these are not social studies, like 1 in 10 are gay or 1 in 4 are molested where it's a matter of personal perspective on a subjective questionnaire. This information is synthesized from physician reports in the way diseases are normally tracked. Now, if you want the specific methodologies, you can pay for the relevant articles and review them yourselves since I don't feel like forking out a couple of hundred bucks for all of them. I'm inclined to go with the peer review process for the publications.