HeLa cells and HPV - (Oct/29/2010 )

Hello everyone
I have got some issues about HeLa cells. I have a friend who has been working with HeLa cells for 2 years and It has no problem at all.Unfortunately, last month she has got a bad cold. At that time, she still did experiment with HeLa cells. One month later, she was diagnosed that she has a condyloma (causing by HPV-virus)at her genitalia. I am so surprise because she is kind of never has sex. So the reason that she recieved this virus from her partner. it never! How do you think is it possible that HPV-virus in HeLa cells can causing the disease in researcher? How can we prevent from this risky?

first of all, I'm happy to be a man. Second, I don't think this is possible because the HPV gene is integrated in the cell genome and it doesn't have a mechanism to self-replicate.

HPV is not just spread by sex - it is also pretty common on people's feet and hands, and as it so happens some strains are more oncogenic than others. She is likely to have picked it up from off a toilet or some other surface and then touched her genitals.