HPV: The Most Common Sexually Transmitted Infection Essay

What is the Human Papillomavirus? Commonly known as HPV, it is an infection that spreads through sexual contact. There are over one hundred different types of HPV; several types cause genital warts, while other high risk strands can lead to cancer of the cervix, anus, vagina, and penis. Because HPV is often asymptomatic, many people are unaware of their infection status, and thus, their potential for transmitting the virus to a sexual partner. The significance of the Human Papillomavirus is that fifty percent of Americans who are sexually active will contract it within their lives, and at any given point there are twenty million Americans already infected with it (“By the numbers: HPV Vaccine”).

HPV is so common in the United States that nearly all men and women will contract the virus at some point during life (Center for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2017). In the United States, in 2008, it is reported that 3.2 million, or one in four adolescent women, ages 14 to 19 have had or have an STD (Kostas-Polston et al., 2012). The rate of HPV cases has only increased since 2008. The prevalence of a genital infection with any HPV type was 42.5% among United States during 2013–2014 (CDC, 2017). The incidence of HPV in the United States is about 14 million people each year.

The HPV vaccine reception has been similar to that of the hepatitis vaccine in that both are seen as an attack on morality, and are considered by some as a license for promiscuity. In the book Vaccine Allen quotes, ‘ “ If a 10- or 12-year-old is given a vaccine to protect against a sexually transmitted disease, then it’s implied they’d be engaging in risky sexual behavior,” said Pia de Solenni, director of “life and women’s issues” for the Family Research Council’ (433). The fact that HPV lives in the sexual organs and is spread by sexual intercourse or intravenous drug use has caused many parents to come to the belief that their children are not at risk. Some parents go so far as to suggest that if

HPV vaccinations bring up many public health and ethical issues. Some states want to require vaccines for school attendance. In the academic journal article “HPV Vaccination’s Second Act: Promotion, Competition, and Compulsion”, author Jason Schwartz states that, “Although some argue that HPV vaccines should never be mandated for school attendance, the temptation for policymakers to revisit this ethical and policy debate must be resisted until HPV vaccination has successfully become a routine, trusted component of adolescent medical care” (Schwartz). This train of thought exemplifies the opposition to HPV vaccination in this country, which restricts us in immunizing possible victims as effectively as possible. If the ignorance towards the vaccine continues, there will not be a powerful impact in decreasing rates of HPV infections.

HPV is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 50 percent of all sexually active men and women will get it at some point in their lives, and 20 million already have it. A vaccine is available that prevents 70% of cervical cancers that arise from sexual intercourse. The human papillomavirus is unknowingly common and is diagnosed in 10,000 women a year, causing 4,000 deaths per year (“HPV Question and Answers”). If we take the responsibility to vaccinate young girls and boys, to be safe, we can eliminate many unnecessary deaths. This vaccine is a great discovery that should be put to good use, the HPV vaccine should be mandated in young teens everywhere.

Should schools require students to have the HPV vaccine? Human Papilloma Virus better known as HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that has the slight chance of becoming cervical cancer. Requiring that the vaccination for HPV be administered at the age of eleven before entering school is unjust and in reality unnecessary. The vaccine only protects against HPV for four to five years. Most eleven year olds do not even think about sex, and by the time they do have sex the vaccine is no longer effective in preventing HPV. The vaccine also cost upwards to four hundred dollars making families that can not afford it have to either go into debt or avoid the vaccine. Parents should be the ones to decide wether a child gets the vaccine.

Prophylactic vaccination against high risk human papilloma virus 16 and 18 represents an exciting means of protection against HPV related malignancy. However, this strategy alone, even if there is a level of cross protection against other oncogenic viruses, cannot completely prevent cervical cancer. In some countries cervical screening programs have reduced the incidence of invasive cervical cancer by up to 80 percent although this decline has now reached a plateau with current cancers occurring in patients who have failed to attend for screening or where the sensitivity of the tests have proved inadequate. Cervical screening is inevitably associated with significant anxiety for the many women who require investigation and treatment following abnormal cervical cytology. However, it is vitally important to stress the need for continued cervical screening to complement vaccination in order to optimize prevention in vaccines and prevent cervical cancer in older women where the value of vaccination is currently unclear. It is likely that vaccination will ultimately change the natural history of HPV disease by reducing the influence of the highly oncogenic types HPV 16 and 18. In the long term this is likely to lead to an increase in recommended screening intervals. HPV vaccination may also reduce

There are many reasons that this vaccine could be beneficial, not only to our society, but to many of the underdeveloped nations of the world in which HPV and cervical cancer are still considered to be an epidemic (MacDonald). It could save the young women who get the vaccine from the future trouble of dealing with a highly invasive cancer, as well as protect them from the embarrassment that comes with contracting a venereal disease. However, the controversy of this topic is not in whether the vaccine is a benefit to women’s health, which many, including the FDA and the Centers for Disease Control, believe that it is; but in the debate over whether it is the parents’ right, not the states’, to choose what is best for their child. The question of mandatory vaccination raises medical, moral and legal issues that are not easily reconcilable (Lovinger). Many parents are opposed to the mandating of this vaccine for three reasons. First, HPV is not spread by casual contact, as are the other diseases that children are vaccinated against for the safety of the classrooms. Second, the vaccine has only been approved for a short while, thus not all of the side effects and long term effects are known. Last, parents are afraid that by getting their child vaccinated against a sexually transmitted disease they will be encouraging promiscuity. Gardasil would become the first vaccine mandated for school-aged children that targets a

Not a very strong case could be made for requiring that schoolgirls ages twelve and upward be required to be vaccinated against HPV. The vaccine only protects against two cancer-causing strains of HPV, so those who are vaccinated must still be regularly tested for precancerous changes in cervical cells, with a regular pap smear exam. Because of this many parents may object to exposing their children to the risks of side effects that come along with the vaccine. The HPV virus is spread by sexual contact, not airborne or casual interaction, so schools shouldn’t be able to mandate that the vaccine be a requirement for school girls.

HPV is the number one sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, and anyone who is sexually active is at risk of contracting the virus. HPV is transmitted through intimate skin-to-skin contact with someone who has the virus, and it is so common that most all sexually active men and women encounter a strain without ever knowing they’re infected (CDC). There are many strains of the HPV virus, some of which don’t cause cervical cancer. To help understand and classify the types of HPV, the terms low-risk and high-risk HPV are used. Some

HPV vaccination is the most common used method for preventing cervical cancer in young girls ranging from age nine to eleven years old. The overall perception of the vaccine is positive by the public because of its wide use and support by state laws, school systems and medical associations. According to the American Pediatric Association the vaccine has an excellent safety record. (Nirvi,1) A reasonable amount of parents still feel skeptical about mandatory HPV vaccination on their kids and lack great knowledge regarding the vaccine’s effectiveness.

In an online survey, the survey administrator and his team asked over fifteen hundred parents of 11-17 year old children whether they agreed that laws requiring HPV vaccination for sixth grade school entry were “a good idea” about half of the parent believed the HPV vaccine, was at least as important as the Tdap and Meningococcal vaccines, the other two recommended for adolescent, only forty percent believed the vaccine prevented cervical cancer. Nearly a quarter of the parents inaccurately believed the vaccine might cause long term health problems and one

The Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the virus responsible for cervical cancer. It is one the most common viral sexually transmitted infections. A vaccine was approved in 2006 that is effective in preventing the types of HPV responsible for 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. Proposals for routine and mandatory HPV vaccination of girls have become sources of controversy for parents of school-aged youth, legislators, members of the medical community, and the public at large (Cooper et al. 2010).

Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) remains the most commonly sexually transmitted infection in both males and females. (Giuliano et al., 1999).

All 50 states require vaccinations for children to enter kindergarten. These mandated vaccinations protect children from various diseases, such as, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, etc. These are contagious diseases that are contracted by casual contact within a school setting and have resulted in many deaths prior to the introduction of the vaccine. Mandating these vaccinations was the only solution to prevent the disease from spreading. In recent years the side effects of these vaccinations have been in question. Every child is unique and their bodies respond differently to each vaccination. Therefore, it is crucial to educate parents about all vaccinations and possible side effects. An informed parent has the right to decide whether to have their child vaccinated and when to have their child vaccinated. In 2006 the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine was introduced to the vaccination repertoire for 11-12 year old females and in 2010 for same aged males (Keim-Malpass,29). This vaccination is now mandated in Rhode Island, Virginia, and The District of Columbia. This vaccination unlike the other mandated vaccinations is to prevent the spread of a sexually transmitted disease, which is not contracted casually in a school setting. Mandating the HPV vaccine has created much controversy.