Kids are more likely to get warts from parents and friends instead of public places, according to a new study.
"Having a family member with warts was a more important risk factor than school-class prevalence, which was more important than any public factor," the researchers wrote in their study. The study, conducted by researchers at Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, looked at 1,000 children ages 4 to 12.
In the study, researchers checked the participants for warts and took down information about their behavior as well as activities. This information included how often they visited public places such as swimming pools, parks and gyms as well as how they interacted with people at home and school. At a follow-up exam a year later, the children were re-examined for warts. About 29 percent of the children in the study developed warts.
The findings demonstrate the real risk for acquiring warts is through exposure to others who already had the virus. Researchers say although public health campaigns focus on germs present in high-traffic places, the emphasis should be on covering up when you are at home too.
Warts are typically caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can be easily transmitted by touch. The warts looked at in the study were not genital warts, which are also a form of HPV, and can cause cervical cancer.
"Current recommendations on wart prevention focus primarily on public places such as swimming pools," said lead author Dr. Sjoerd Bruggink, from the department of public health and primary care at Leiden University Medical Center. "[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."
The Dutch team reported its findings in the journal Pediatrics.
