2008 Woodie Awards
The shocking new epidemic
Could you be at risk for the disease common among college students?
Christina Heiser, News Editor
Issue date: 4/18/07 Section: News
Approximately 20 million
Americans, the majority of
whom are women, are currently
infected with HPV, the
human papillomavirus. In fact,
HPV is one of the more commonly
contracted sexually
transmitted diseases among
college-aged females, and the
numbers keep growing. Every
year, more than six million
Americans will become
infected, but the disease is
much more dangerous for
women, since it increases their
chances of developing cervical
cancer, according to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
On Thursday, April 12, a
lecture entitled "Gardasil: To
Vaccinate or Not to
Vaccinate?" was held by
Lambda Kappa Sigma at St.
John's University, regarding
HPV, its risk factors, potential
effects, and moral implications
of getting vaccinated.
There are more than 100
types of the virus, but strands
16 and 18 are the two that
pose the highest-risk. They
are responsible for about 70
percent of cases of cervical
cancer in women, while
strands 6 and 11 are the two
most common low-risk
strands, causing genital warts.
Statistics from the United
State Department of Health
and Human Services in 2004
show that younger women are
more likely to contract HPV,
but various other factors could
also affect a woman's chances,
including an early age of sexual
intercourse, an increasing
number of sexual partners, as
well as never being
screened for the disease,
immunosuppression, tobacco
use, long-term use of
oral contraceptives, coinfection,
parity, and poor
nutrition.
Screening for the disease
includes pap smears
and HPV DNA tests.
In June 2006, Gardasil
was the first FDAapproved
vaccine for HPV
to be released. The vaccine
protects against the four
most common strands of
the disease, thus reducing a
woman's risk of developing
cervical cancer or pre-cancerous
and abnormal lesions.
Americans, the majority of
whom are women, are currently
infected with HPV, the
human papillomavirus. In fact,
HPV is one of the more commonly
contracted sexually
transmitted diseases among
college-aged females, and the
numbers keep growing. Every
year, more than six million
Americans will become
infected, but the disease is
much more dangerous for
women, since it increases their
chances of developing cervical
cancer, according to the
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention.
On Thursday, April 12, a
lecture entitled "Gardasil: To
Vaccinate or Not to
Vaccinate?" was held by
Lambda Kappa Sigma at St.
John's University, regarding
HPV, its risk factors, potential
effects, and moral implications
of getting vaccinated.
There are more than 100
types of the virus, but strands
16 and 18 are the two that
pose the highest-risk. They
are responsible for about 70
percent of cases of cervical
cancer in women, while
strands 6 and 11 are the two
most common low-risk
strands, causing genital warts.
Statistics from the United
State Department of Health
and Human Services in 2004
show that younger women are
more likely to contract HPV,
but various other factors could
also affect a woman's chances,
including an early age of sexual
intercourse, an increasing
number of sexual partners, as
well as never being
screened for the disease,
immunosuppression, tobacco
use, long-term use of
oral contraceptives, coinfection,
parity, and poor
nutrition.
Screening for the disease
includes pap smears
and HPV DNA tests.
In June 2006, Gardasil
was the first FDAapproved
vaccine for HPV
to be released. The vaccine
protects against the four
most common strands of
the disease, thus reducing a
woman's risk of developing
cervical cancer or pre-cancerous
and abnormal lesions.
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