The HPV Misinformation is Sickening

[erpowers]

The fact that the media has decided to spread misinformation about HPV makes me very angry. I contend HPV is not a sexually transmitted disease. I contend a disease cannot/should not be classified as a sexually transmitted disease if a person can get the disease with having sex. Throughout the debate about this new HPV vaccine and this morning the media has been calling HPV a sexually transmitted disease. They have also been allowing conservatives to say they are opposed to the new vaccine because this vaccine could encourage kids to start having sex at an earlier age. My problem with the way the media has handled the story is that most of this is completely false. Women can get HPV without having sex. A women's chances of getting HPV are increased if she does have sex, but even if she stays a virgin all her life she can still get the virus. My sources for this information are not just myself and my own beliefs. I have talked with two medical officials and have seen a biology demostration on the issue of HVP. In each case the same information was given; women who do not have sex can get HPV.

When I was 18 I went to the doctor to get a regular physical and the person who did my physical asked me if I wanted to take a pap smear. I told the woman no just because I did not think I needed it; I just wanted a basic physical. She then told me that it was okay that I did not want to get the pap smear, but that I should get it done at some point in that it was a way to see if I had cervical cancer and that all women after the age of 18, if they had not started having sex, should start getting pap smears. She went on to say that if a women starts having sex earlier than 18 than she should start getting pap smears at that age. Later when talking to a school physican I was told mainly the same thing. The physican said that even though some doctors still do not like giving pap smears to females who have not had sex it is now recommended that all females at the age of 18 and over get pap smears to check for cervical cancer. The physcian also said that yes a female who is not having sex could still get HPV which leads to cervical cancer. Finally, in a biology lab a group of students were assigned HPV as their project and they came up with the same information. Women can get HPV if they are having sex or even if they are not having sex. So I contend HPV should not be classified as a sexually transmitted disease.

I understand that some people would say that if I think HPV should not be classified as a sexually transmitted disease than I would have to say that HIV and AIDS are not sexually transmitted diseases in that sex is not the only way to get those disease. My response to that is even though in the early 90s it was possible to get HIV and AIDS through blood transfusions advances in science and testing of blood have pretty much so stopped that from happening. Now days just about the only way you can get HIV and AIDS is through unprotected sex and drug use. If you do not use drugs than the only way you can get HIV and AIDS is through having unprotected sex. With HPV you can live a healthy life, not use drugs, and not have sex and still get HPV. Therefore, I contend HPV should not be classified as a sexually transmitted disease.

[zann725]

1. I find it VERY troubling...this rush to innoculate women's cervixes with

WHAT? And why suddenly the IMMEDIATE need...with a vaccine essentially untested. Something about this whole "hype" smacks of Goerbel medical experimentations long ago.

For all we know, the injections cold have other far-reaching reproductive 'alterations' in those injected...OR their off-spring. Like they genetically alter tomatoes.

[Liberal Veteran]

4. Um...the vaccine just produces antibodies to HPV.

Just like most vaccines, it teaches your body to recognize the virus without GIVING you the virus so that the body can rapidly destroy it if your are exposed. It's not like it mutates your reproductive system.

[realisticphish]

10. they're not injecting you

with plutonium, or anything ;)

[elehhhhna]

5. same here. the kids are 12 & 10 so I think we'll give it 5 years before

considering the vaccine

[Liberal Veteran]

2. Geez....of all the things to get worked up about.

The reason HPV in this case is called an STD is because genital warts are PRIMARILY spread through genital contact. Thus, it is sexually transmitted.

[Poppyseedman]

3. I understand your frustration, but

HPV can be transmitted by sexual activity, not exclusively.

The information I looked at says about 30% of cases are sexually transmitted.

As for the media what do you expect???

[elehhhhna]

6. Here's some interesting & somewhat scary info:

What are the effects of high risk HPV cervical infections?
High risk strains of the virus are linked to cervical changes in women and could possibly lead to cervical cancer. If a woman has regular pap smears, any cervical changes that develop can be monitored and treated, if necessary, making cervical cancer extremely rare. High risk HPV strains are those that are least likely to cause genital warts. Two of these same high risk strains are those that can cause penile cancer in men or anal cancer in those individuals who engage in anal intercourse. These cancers are extremely rare. Transmission rate from mother to baby is unknown but thought to be low.

much more here: http://72.14.209.104/search?q=cache:2WZDmka3MuQJ:www.indiana.edu/~health/hpv.html+hpv+transmission&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3

[Autonomy]

7. I've been researching HPV a bit recently

and discovered that no one really knows what the hell they're talking about when it comes to this usually minor disease. Lots of expert sources contradict each other. I am pretty sure their info on various strains and the link to cervical cancer is correct, and I would bet they have or could unlock the genome sequence, but as far as the simpler stuff, like how it's contracted, I don't trust the info.

Also, some sources (particularly an M.D. in an STD practice) say that HPV simply goes away over time in most cases. This doctor makes a strong argument, though she's not a researcher and is relying on her experience treating the disease.

I would agree that HPV probably should not be classified as an STD. But I am not a scientist or a doctor. My intuition is that they are leaving it classified as an STD for two (rather conspiratorial) reasons:

1. To keep people aware that it can be spread through sexual contact. But since condoms are ineffective in preventing transmission of HPV, and since an estimated 80% of sexually active people have at least one strain of HPV, only abstinence can prevent it.

Would medical science get in on the fundy "abstinence-only" movement? Probably not, as such, unless ignoring that HPV is also non-sexually transmitted also seems more effective in regard to the spread and prevalence.

2. Perhaps more importantly, they don't want an "HPV scare" going on. With the link to cancer, public knowledge of how easily HPV is spread could cause a panic. Normally medical science would accept such a scare, but considering that only two strains of HPV cause cancer, perhaps they think the burden on the system of checking LITERALLY EVERYONE for these two strains would collapse the already fragile insurance system, especially considering that checking for the disease is extremely difficult and expensive. There's no simple blood test for it; they have to test actual skin tissue, from what I understand.

Just a thought. In any case, something seems really funny about this HPV business.

[MercutioATC]

8. I think the "STD" designation is valid if the majority of cases are spread

through sexual contact.

By your definition, there ARE no STDs.

[catabryna]

9. I hope that the vaccine lives up to expectations...

I am a woman who contracted HPV from my first sexual partner who later became my husband. I was 20 years old (back in 1985) when I had to have stage 4 cells (dysplasia) frozen as a result of this virus. Were I to have not had regular pap smears, I very well might not be here now. Fortunately, in the 21 years since then, I haven't had another abnormal smear. I firmly believe that any vaccine that might save women from the demise of cervical cancer should be offered as SOP by all gynecologists.

And, while HPV may not ALWAYS be transmitted by sexual contact, I consider it an STD.

edited to correct date.

[realisticphish]

11. Actually

any contact between bodily fluids (meaning blood/semen) can transfer AIDS. That is, if you have an open wound and blood gets in it, or if infected blood gets into your eyes. Yet, we still call HIV an STD. No disease is JUST transmitted by sex. But most of the time, they are transferred in that manner. Ditto with HPV