New HPV vaccine
Published Nov. 10, 2005
By Kasey Fielding
Not all of the articles we publish in Lifestyle are about butterflies and fawns. We had an increased emphasis on health coverage this year, and 2005 saw a relatively major development: a vaccine to combat human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can lead to cervical cancer. The complexities of this article made it difficult to write--health care experts are notoriously busy and difficult to contact, much less a pharmeceutical company, and the logistical and social implications of the vaccine were complicated. How to market a drug that combats an STD that must be administered to adolescents whose parents may not be comfortable or aware of their children's sexual identities?
Yet for a college readership, however, this information was vital. One should ideally be vaccinated for HPV before one becomes sexually active, and for those who have graduated high school, this must be a voluntary act undertaken individually. It was also important to note that this was not a cure for cancer, but a preventative measure. The angle we chose to take was on the awareness of the issue in the student body, with some shocking results-- one young man told our reporter, Kasey, that "he would only consider being vaccinated if his 'cervix were in danger"' (men do not have cervixes) or if he were promiscuous, but men are equally susceptible to genital warts caused by HPV."
My assistant and I did a lot of work with Kasey to finish this article, and we were very proud of the result. For more information, read on:
Social Health Association's Web site, www.ashastd.org. There are over 100 strains of the virus, which is not necessarily prevented by condom use, the ASHA said.
More than 20 million people in the United States have HPV. Almost three out of four people between 15 and 49 will contract the virus in their lifetime, ASHA said. Because the virus is asymptomatic and undetectable, HPV can be spread among sexual partners unconsciously, according to ASHA.
The Resource Foundation's Web site, www.resourcefnd.org, names high school and college students as the group with the highest risk of contracting the virus; two- thirds of STI cases are found in people under 25. Merck said their clinical studies have included adolescent men and women aged 10 to 23.
For many young people, the vast amount of complex information about HPV is difficult to comb through, and the correlation between cervical cancer and HPV is often misunderstood..
By Kasey Fielding
Not all of the articles we publish in Lifestyle are about butterflies and fawns. We had an increased emphasis on health coverage this year, and 2005 saw a relatively major development: a vaccine to combat human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted disease (STD) that can lead to cervical cancer. The complexities of this article made it difficult to write--health care experts are notoriously busy and difficult to contact, much less a pharmeceutical company, and the logistical and social implications of the vaccine were complicated. How to market a drug that combats an STD that must be administered to adolescents whose parents may not be comfortable or aware of their children's sexual identities?
Yet for a college readership, however, this information was vital. One should ideally be vaccinated for HPV before one becomes sexually active, and for those who have graduated high school, this must be a voluntary act undertaken individually. It was also important to note that this was not a cure for cancer, but a preventative measure. The angle we chose to take was on the awareness of the issue in the student body, with some shocking results-- one young man told our reporter, Kasey, that "he would only consider being vaccinated if his 'cervix were in danger"' (men do not have cervixes) or if he were promiscuous, but men are equally susceptible to genital warts caused by HPV."
My assistant and I did a lot of work with Kasey to finish this article, and we were very proud of the result. For more information, read on:
Social Health Association's Web site, www.ashastd.org. There are over 100 strains of the virus, which is not necessarily prevented by condom use, the ASHA said.
More than 20 million people in the United States have HPV. Almost three out of four people between 15 and 49 will contract the virus in their lifetime, ASHA said. Because the virus is asymptomatic and undetectable, HPV can be spread among sexual partners unconsciously, according to ASHA.
The Resource Foundation's Web site, www.resourcefnd.org, names high school and college students as the group with the highest risk of contracting the virus; two- thirds of STI cases are found in people under 25. Merck said their clinical studies have included adolescent men and women aged 10 to 23.
For many young people, the vast amount of complex information about HPV is difficult to comb through, and the correlation between cervical cancer and HPV is often misunderstood..
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11:17 PM
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