Children more Likely to get Warts from Family Members, Friends

According to a new study from Denmark, children are more likely to get warts from family members or friends from school than from using public pools or showers.

Warts in children are caused by some strains of human papilloma virus and usually go away on their own. Usually, these warts appear on the hands.

"Current recommendations on wart prevention focus primarily on public places such as swimming pools. [But] children often get warts from family members or classmates rather than from public spaces, [suggesting that] covering warts at home or at school could maybe be more helpful in preventing warts," said Dr. Sjoerd Bruggink, from the department of public health and primary care at Leiden University Medical Center and lead author of the study, reports HealthDay.

The data for the study came from 1,134 Dutch children enrolled in grades 1 through 7 (children were between ages 4 and 12) from different primary schools in Leiden, Netherlands. Researchers tracked the prevalence of warts in these children for about 18 months.

The parents of these children were given questionnaires which asked them about the children's use of public pools, time spent in playing various sports, as well as the occurrence of warts among other family members.

Study results showed that children were more likely to get warts from school or family members than from using public facilities.

"The study findings make sense since HPV is a contact-borne virus, and children have the most contact with their household members and school friends. It is a great reminder that if anyone has a wart [they should] cover it to prevent spreading the virus," Dr. Joceyln Glassberg, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Scott and White Healthcare in Round Rock, Texas, told HealthDay.

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.