Moral question about HPV

[youdontknowme]

I've mentioned this a few times on here. I had an abnormal pap about 6 months ago, which means that I have a strain of HPV related to cervical cancer. When I first found out I had the disease, I wasn't sure if I should tell my ex partners, and if so, which ones.
There is no test for males, the infection can be dormant for years, and usually someone's immune system fights it off with no issue. There are also no symptoms for this type of HPV.
At the time, I'd been separated from my most recent ex for about 8 months and had 2 hook ups since then. My most recent hook up was informed, but I'm not sure what to do about the rest. I've had a total of 7 sexual partners in my life. ANY of them could have given to me and there's no way to make sure who it was. The virus can also lie dormant for years, which complicates matters even further. I could have gotten this from my very first boyfriend, 3 years ago, and it only popped up in the months leading up to my pap. I don't even have a way to contact some of these guys anymore.
I keep getting conflicting advice about it. Some resources say that the infection is so ubiquitous there is not much point in informing exes unless they were quite recent. Others seem to think that I have a moral obligation. I don't know what to think.
I want to do the right thing, I really do. I've informed exes when I contracted a testable, curable STD, but none of them can be tested for this. None of them would ever know for sure, and there is not much in the way of treatment for males with HPV. The only way I could possibly know who, exactly, gave it to me would be if I were still with the guy I lost my virginity to, and I'm certainly not. I really don't know what to do :/
Am I being a bad person by keeping it to myself, or am I overthinking this? It's been bothering me lately.
... Ya know what? Perhaps I should consult my doctor. I bet they would give me pretty qualified advice. There is so much sensationalized misinformation about HPV out there that it makes clear thinking damn near impossible. Some people even seem to think that HPV IS cancer and having sex with an HPV positive person is way of "catching" cancer. Views are skewed and stigma is high. I would still like to hear from you guys, though.

[Nat2015]

Hi, I also had an abnormal smear test 2 years ago. After further swabs, I tested positive for high risk hpv (unsure which one or how many). I informed the current partner I was with at the time, although we are no longer seeing each other now. I decided it was pointless to inform any other partners. Like you say, there is no way of knowing exactly who passed the virus on or how long you have had it. In addition, even if you told your previous partners, there is nothing they can do with the information. As you say, there is no test for men so they can never know definitively if they have the virus or not and even if they could test to find out, there is no treatment for it. Added to that, the likelihood is high that whoever gave it to you has already cleared the virus from their system in which case they would test negative should a test be available.

To keep things in perspective, most sexually active people will acquire at least one strain of genital hpv in their lifetime (of which there are 30 in total) and it will cause no effects at all.

[youdontknowme]

Thanks, Nat!
I think there's a lot of self-shaming in my head. There's this piece of my psyche that keeps playing out this horrible story where one of my exes develops anal or penile cancer and dies painfully. Or his next partner unwittingly contracts high risk HPV, never gets a pap, and develops cervical cancer. "Oh!" That voice wails, "Oh and it's all your fault!!!"
In reality, the chances of that are slim to none. Even if that did happen to one of my exes, which would be absolutely tragic, there wouldn't have been much that anyone could've done anyway. As for their partners, well, women are supposed to get paps precisely because HPV is so common and difficult to trace. It's not my responsibility to inform women that pap smears are important.
I sort of doubt that some of my exes would even particularly want to know. Like you said, nothing they could do with the info. It would just cause needless worry. They'll probably be fine.

I'll have to avoid reading internet blogs and reddit squabbles about this issue. Stick to the facts, enjoy life, inform potential partners, and mostly just kick back until my next pap.

[Nat2015]

I can understand the shame factor a little and I had some of this when I first found out as well, but not anymore. I view it as no different to getting a verruca as a child. There is no stigma or shame attached to catching a verruca so why do we attach shame to the same virus but on a different body part. It seems illogical to me. I'm due another swab and check in August so I'm hoping my body has cleared it this time. I've had enough of smear tests and abnormal cells now! lol

[youdontknowme]

There is a lot of cultural shaming when it comes to STDs. I'm pretty open with my friends about the fact that I've had one or two simply because I refuse to treat it any differently than getting chicken pox or a bad flu.
All it means is that I was sexually active at some point, lol. It does make me a lot more careful than I used to be, cause they aren't fun :P
Good luck with your swab test! I hope we're both in the clear very soon