HPV History
HPV was not discovered until the twentieth century. It was discovered by Dr. Richard Shope in 1930, at Rockefeller University. It wasn't first discovered in a human, it was originally found it an infected rabbit that had unknown warts. Dr. Richard Shope was not the one to deem it as HPV, but did determine they were caused by a virus. It wasn't until 1949 that it was discovered in humans. It was found by looking at strains under an electron microscope. Later on more and more strains are discovered. Interestingly enough, it was thought to be a strain of Herpes in the 1970s. This was thought to be this mainly because many women with genital warts were getting cervical cancer, and since Herpes is known to cause genital warts, it was assumed that HPV is a form of Herpes. It was later proven that it is not. In the early twenty-first century a prevention shot came out for HPV. It was a major controversy at first but is now commonly accepted.