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Sexually Transmitted Infection

Decent Essays

Public Health Problem
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) has been a persisting public health problem throughout the world. While some STIs, like gonorrhea, are curable, other STIs like human papillomavirus (HPV), have no cure and can lead to deadly consequences. Unfortunately, HPV is considered to be the most common type of sexually transmitted infection. Like all STIs, HPV spread through sexual contact with an infected person, whether it be vaginal, anal, or oral sex. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are about 79 million Americans infected with HPV at a time and about 14 million new cases arise every year (“Human Papillomavirus (HPV)”). This means that about one in four people are infected with some type …show more content…

These guidelines suggest and explain several different possible approaches towards curing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, including cryotherapy and loop electrosurgical excision procedure (LEEP) (“WHO Guidelines for Screening and Treatment of Precancerous Lesions for Cervical Cancer Prevention,” 2013). Depending on the size and location of the CIN, cryotherapy can be an effective way of curing CIN. This procedure involves freezing abnormal cervical tissues with carbon dioxide. By freezing the targeted tissues, the abnormal cells are destroyed. It has been found to be about 80% effective in curing CIN (Sauvaget, Muwonge, & Sankaranarayanan, 2013). Alternatively, the Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure (LEEP) can be used to destroy abnormal cells as well. In this procedure, a loop of thin wire with a low, electric current is used to cut out tissue containing abnormal cells in the cervix. Once removed, the tissue can be further examined to determine the severity of the disease. While it is possible for abnormal cells to develop again, it is unlikely, making LEEP a highly effective way of curing CIN (Rema, Suchetha, Thara, Fayette, Wesley, & Sankaranarayanan, 2008). These two procedures have been found to be equally effective when treating CIN, making them both increasingly desirable procedures for CIN …show more content…

Between 2007 and 2009, an HPV vaccine program was introduced in Australia. Three years after the introduction, Brotheron, Fridman, May, Chappell, Saville, and Gertig (2011) examined how these vaccines affected women’s cervical health. It was found that after the vaccine program was introduced, there was a lower number of reports of women having high-grade cervical abnormalities. While this was only the first report, it shows great promise that implementing a program for the HPV vaccine will have a positive effect on women’s health. The lower the chances are for people to contract the HPV virus means that there’s a lower chance that people will develop cervical cancer and other

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