Mandatory Human Papilloma Virus
Suzie Toraitis
Professor Connie Yandow
Seminar in Education Inquiry
04 March 2011 Research Draft
Mandatory Human Papilloma Vaccine
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the most commonly sexually transmitted disease in the United States. It is estimated that at least 80% of men and women acquire an HPV infection during their lifetime. “In a recent study of women in the United States 25% of fourteen to nineteen year olds were infected with at least one type of HPV. HPV is often acquired within a few months of sexual initiation, even among people with only one partner”. (Contemporary OB/GYN) Men are the main carriers of this infection but once a woman has been exposed to the infection she is also a carrier of HPV. Once a person has been exposed to this virus they will pass it to every partner they are sexually intimate with in their life time. Until recently it was believed that the most dangerous consequences of this virus were cervical and vaginal cancers in women. Recently it was discovered that HPV also causes cancers of the anus, penis, mouth and throat. The study included 1,100 men, ages 18 to 70. They were from the United States, Brazil and Mexico. All were tested for HPV when they enrolled in the study. Half the men were infected, the author told Reuters Health news service. They also were tested every six months for another 2 to 3 years. Researchers found that 6% of the men became newly infected each year with HPV Type 16. (Harvard) The HPV vaccination protects against the four most commonly found strains of HPV. There are two low risk and two high risk strains that are most commonly found. Type 6 and 11 are low risk strains of the virus and cause genital warts. Type 16 and 18 are high risk strains and cause cellular changes that can become cancers. HPV is the only sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause cancer in both men and women and it is estimated that eighty percent of the population has HPV whether or not they know it. Anyone who has had
Professor Connie Yandow
Seminar in Education Inquiry
04 March 2011 Research Draft
Mandatory Human Papilloma Vaccine
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the most commonly sexually transmitted disease in the United States. It is estimated that at least 80% of men and women acquire an HPV infection during their lifetime. “In a recent study of women in the United States 25% of fourteen to nineteen year olds were infected with at least one type of HPV. HPV is often acquired within a few months of sexual initiation, even among people with only one partner”. (Contemporary OB/GYN) Men are the main carriers of this infection but once a woman has been exposed to the infection she is also a carrier of HPV. Once a person has been exposed to this virus they will pass it to every partner they are sexually intimate with in their life time. Until recently it was believed that the most dangerous consequences of this virus were cervical and vaginal cancers in women. Recently it was discovered that HPV also causes cancers of the anus, penis, mouth and throat. The study included 1,100 men, ages 18 to 70. They were from the United States, Brazil and Mexico. All were tested for HPV when they enrolled in the study. Half the men were infected, the author told Reuters Health news service. They also were tested every six months for another 2 to 3 years. Researchers found that 6% of the men became newly infected each year with HPV Type 16. (Harvard) The HPV vaccination protects against the four most commonly found strains of HPV. There are two low risk and two high risk strains that are most commonly found. Type 6 and 11 are low risk strains of the virus and cause genital warts. Type 16 and 18 are high risk strains and cause cellular changes that can become cancers. HPV is the only sexually transmitted infection (STI) that can cause cancer in both men and women and it is estimated that eighty percent of the population has HPV whether or not they know it. Anyone who has had