HPV is a group of virus strains that can enter your body through tiny tears or abrasions in the skin or mucous membrane. They are estimated to affect 80% of us by age 50, but those with healthy immune systems will never know, as we fight them off without ill effects. Those with compromised immunity, however, may not manage this.
Around 40 strains can affect the genital area and are spread by sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal or oral) and genital skin-to-skin contact – HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection globally, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
HPV us also the main cause of cervical cancer, responsible for around 95% of cases, says the WHO. In South Africa, the National Cancer Registry notes that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer for women after breast cancer, affecting one in 39 of us, and killing more women than any other cancer: eight a day, and rising.
HPV can also cause genital warts, vaginal cancer, anal cancer, and head and neck cancers, says Professor Michael Herbst, Professor Michael Herbst, health specialist consultant at the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA). “HPV-related cancers leave many women infertile,” he adds.
How is HPV spread?
Infection can be through genital skin contact, not just intercourse, and all it takes is a single encounter.
Cervical cancer creeps up without symptoms, so many women are unaware they have it until it is far advanced, when there can be abnormal bleeding and discharge, bleeding after intercourse, pelvic pain and even kidney failure, says Herbst.
The good news, he says, is that today cervical cancer is a potentially preventable disease, thanks to medical advances.
How to prevent HPV
LImiting sexual partners can lesson your chance of exposure to the HPV virus, says Herbst.
Using condoms during sex provides some protection – but it is only partial, as infection can be simply through genital skin contact. The female (internal) condom covers a larger area of the female external genitals and the base of the penis in intercourse, but if the virus is in any skin not protected by the condom, it can still be passed on.
The best protection is vaccines: Cervarix or Gardasil. These give girls protection against two strains of HPV that between them cause 70% of cervical cancers. They also give boys protection against genital warts, and penile cancer, anal cancer and mouth and throat cancers (from oral sex), and can keep their future partners safe from infection, says Herbst.
Girls and boys younger than 15 need two shots of vaccine six months apart, and those older than 15 need three. The Department of Health’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation in South Africa now provides free shots for girls in Grade 4 aged 9 or older at government schools, and girls at non-government schools, and boys, can get their jabs from a health professional or pharmacy clinic.
The vaccine can be given up to age 26 but is best given before age 15, or the start of sexual activity – talk with your health professional or pharmacist.
CANSA also urges women to have regular pap smears for early detection or cervical cancer – the sooner treatment is started, the more likely it is to be effective, says Herbst. Sexually active women should have a pap smear each year before age 30, then every three years, to identify abnormal cell changes in the cervix. DNA analysis can then establish if the cause is HPV.
There is no cure or HPV. Treatment targets symptoms, and your health professional may choose to simply monitor the cells, as they may heal on their own, or remove them through the likes of a biopsy or laser therapy. If cancer is already present, however, you may need surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or a combination, depending on the stage of the cancer.
“It is far better to avoid infection in the first place with vaccination,” says Herbst.
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Also read: Why screening for HPV is important
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