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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
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NetWellness provides the highest quality health information and education services created and evaluated by faculty of our partner universities.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
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HPV is a very common sexually transmitted disease; 15% of the population is affected at any time. Over half of sexually active women and men will be infected with some type of HPV in their lifetime, but most of those affected are between the ages of 15 and 24. Unfortunately, HPV often has no symptoms, so women especially do not know they have it. In addition, the infection usually clears without treatment, and although it is undetectable in most women within two years of the infection, it can remain in the body for many years. 
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among women world-wide; however, in the United States, it is not among the top 10 causes of new cancers in women each year. This is primarily because of the routine use of Pap testing and early treatment of cervical dysplasias that could have become cancers. All women should have regular Pap smears, beginning with the onset of sexual activity or at age 18.
Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a group of more than 100 different virus types, each of which can cause different health problems, including common, plantar, and genital warts, skin and cervical cancers. Two types of HPV, 6 and 11, are responsible for 90% of genital warts. Two other types, 16 and 18, are responsible for about 70% of cervical cancers.
In 2006, a new vaccine against HPV (Gardasil) was approved by the FDA and made commercially available. Gardasil provides protection against four types of HPV—types 6 and 11 that cause genital warts and types 16 and 18 that cause cervical cancer. Like other vaccines, Gardasil needs to be given before exposure to the infection. Thus, Gardasil is recommended for routine immunization of girls, ages 11-12.
"Catch-up" immunization can be given to girls and young women, ages 13-26, who have not engaged in sexual activity. Gardasil is given in a series of three injections, with the second and third doses given two and six months after the first. The cost is about $360 for the series, and insurance companies vary in coverage.
The following links provide additional information about HPV, cervical cancer, and how to avoid the risk factors that lead to these preventable diseases.
This article is a NetWellness exclusive. 
Last Reviewed: Mar 06, 2009
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Linda A. Bernhard, PhD, RN Associate Professor Adult Health and Illness College of Nursing The Ohio State University |
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