Sexually Transmitted Hpv Remains Mystery

[LaoPo]

Sexually transmitted HPV remains mystery

Dr. Elizabeth Poyner:

"Nearly every working day, Dr. Elizabeth Poynor encounters anxious young women who come to her New York City office with an HPV diagnosis. The human papillomavirus is the most prevalent sexually transmitted diseases - so common that researchers estimate most people will have some form of it in their lifetime. Young adults are especially at risk because they tend to be the most sexually active group."

"And yet Poynor finds that most of her young patients - even if they've heard of a new vaccine aimed at preventing the worst kinds of HPV - know little about the virus and the harm it can do.

Many women find themselves scrambling to understand HPV after a routine Pap smear determines they have it. And that, Poynor and others say, creates angst that could be avoided with more education.

"This is a very common problem, period," Poynor, a gynecological oncologist in private practice, says of HPV. "That's the first thing I try to tell my patients, to put their minds at ease and to potentially take away some of the stigma that a sexually transmitted disease might carry."

The reasons that HPV is so little known are many. Poynor thinks it's been overshadowed by higher-profile STDs, such as HIV and herpes. Others note that, when marketing its vaccine, pharmaceutical company Merck & Co. has chosen to focus on the potential for cervical cancer rather than the virus itself, which also can cause genital warts.

And then there's the gender divide. Both men and women can have high-risk HPV and low-risk types. But, doctors say, high-risk strains pose more problems for women, potentially leading not only to cervical cancer but also to infertility.

Frequently, men are seen as the silent carriers who can unknowingly spread HPV to their sexual partners. And even when people know they have HPV, they often think condoms offer 100 percent protection, when research has shown that they don't."

Full article here:

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-03...tent_829471.htm

LaoPo

[Prakanong]

Mercks vaccine also prevents genital warts

GSK has a vaccine out soon. Does not prevent genital warts but has a wider range than Mercks

Men should probably be vaccinated too but unless they pay the circa 300USD for the 3 shots nobody is paying.

Good marketing by Merck this though - I will point this out to our people ;-)

[backflip]

"Men should probably be vaccinated too but unless they pay the circa 300USD for the 3 shots nobody is paying"

Gardasil (I believe that's how Merch spells it) has not been tested on men. I'm not sure why you recommend it.