Spring Break
Should you be one less?
Knowledge emerges of HPV causing changes in pap testing, expert says
Breann Schossow
Issue date: 3/30/09 Section: Money/Health
Beginning more than two years ago, advertisements and promotions swept through the media posing a single question regarding women's health:
Should you be one less?
Since then, there have been more than 16,000 doses of Gardasil distributed in the United States, according to the FDA, as well as new information released about the vaccination.
Gardasil, a vaccination that prevents four types of Human Papillomavirus was tested in more than 11,000 girls and women around the world. It was found to be both safe, and successful in preventing HPV-related diseases.
Background
According to the vaccination's Web site, Gardasil aids in protecting against four types of HPV and is given as a series of injections, three over a six month period.
Student Health Services Nurse-practitioner Deborah Wright said they have offered the vaccination since it came out in 2006. She said it's beneficial because there is an at-risk population and it helps people develop immunity to types of HPV.
HPV is a very common virus, Wright said and cited studies which show that if people who enter a family planning clinic are tested and have engaged in sexual intercourse, a very large percentage of people are exposed to this virus during their early reproductive years.
"Over time, most of us develop immunity if we're exposed to it," she said. "The majority of people who have it don't know they have it."
A change in the testing …
Wright added that there's no way to test for HPV when patients come into the clinic unless they do a pap test on women or see a wart.
In addition to receiving the vaccine, Wright said it is still important to get pap tests.
"The recommendation right now is to treat people who have the vaccine exactly the same as people who haven't had the vaccine," she said. She added that at this point, medical professionals are not doing fewer pap tests just because a vaccine is in use. However, this is something that may change in the future.
Nevertheless, with increased knowledge about the HPV virus, Wright said they are changing the way they think about pap tests.
Wright said that five to 10 years ago, an initial pap test was required at age 18 or when someone began having intercourse, whichever happened first.
Now, an initial pap test should occur two to three years after beginning intercourse or by age 21.
The change, Wright said, is because when people have intercourse for the first time, they often are exposed to the HPV virus and there could be a transient HPV infection that clears up by the process of a person's own immune system.
"The idea is to not over treat young women for having a transient HPV infection," she said.
Disagreements regarding the side effects
Certain types of the virus can lead to cervical cancer, while other types can cause genital warts, according to the Gardasil Web site. Side effects of Gardasil include pain at the injection site, headaches and fever, among others.
However, Wright hasn't seen most of those side effects.
"The only side effect I've heard is that it hurts more than other vaccines," she said.
On the other hand, organizations such as the National Vaccine Information Center disagree with the severity of side effects of the vaccination. A February 2009 analysis of two vaccines, Gardasil and Menactra, took information from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, which was created under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. It became operational in 1990, according to the analysis.
The NVIC's analysis shows there have been 29 reported deaths from Gardasil alone. Symptoms reported to the VAERS system include 23 reports of blood clots and nine reports of cardiac arrest. Others include stroke and vasculitus.
According to the report's conclusion, Gardasil seemed to be associated with high reports of atypical collapse and related symptoms. The report goes on to say that the FDA should look into the health issues and deaths related to Gardasil as shown by the VAERS results and their analysis.
On the other side
In general, Wright said she prefers the usage of vaccinations herself and hasn't heard about Gardasil being more or less dangerous than other vaccines.
"I think they help boost our bodies immune systems by giving a small amount, either alive or dead, of the organism that could cause that infection," she said.
She added that by teaching people's bodies to recognize foreign matter, they would be able to fight it off.
With Gardasil, someone's body will recognize one of the four types it covers if they come in contact with it during intercourse and the person will hopefully be able to fight it off, she added.
Wright said it's very difficult to require vaccinations.
"In terms of public health … you should have widespread vaccines," she said. "The more people who are vaccinated, the more people there are that are immune to these viruses and less to spread to people who don't have the vaccine."
Should you be one less?
Since then, there have been more than 16,000 doses of Gardasil distributed in the United States, according to the FDA, as well as new information released about the vaccination.
Gardasil, a vaccination that prevents four types of Human Papillomavirus was tested in more than 11,000 girls and women around the world. It was found to be both safe, and successful in preventing HPV-related diseases.
Background
According to the vaccination's Web site, Gardasil aids in protecting against four types of HPV and is given as a series of injections, three over a six month period.
Student Health Services Nurse-practitioner Deborah Wright said they have offered the vaccination since it came out in 2006. She said it's beneficial because there is an at-risk population and it helps people develop immunity to types of HPV.
HPV is a very common virus, Wright said and cited studies which show that if people who enter a family planning clinic are tested and have engaged in sexual intercourse, a very large percentage of people are exposed to this virus during their early reproductive years.
"Over time, most of us develop immunity if we're exposed to it," she said. "The majority of people who have it don't know they have it."
A change in the testing …
Wright added that there's no way to test for HPV when patients come into the clinic unless they do a pap test on women or see a wart.
In addition to receiving the vaccine, Wright said it is still important to get pap tests.
"The recommendation right now is to treat people who have the vaccine exactly the same as people who haven't had the vaccine," she said. She added that at this point, medical professionals are not doing fewer pap tests just because a vaccine is in use. However, this is something that may change in the future.
Nevertheless, with increased knowledge about the HPV virus, Wright said they are changing the way they think about pap tests.
Wright said that five to 10 years ago, an initial pap test was required at age 18 or when someone began having intercourse, whichever happened first.
Now, an initial pap test should occur two to three years after beginning intercourse or by age 21.
The change, Wright said, is because when people have intercourse for the first time, they often are exposed to the HPV virus and there could be a transient HPV infection that clears up by the process of a person's own immune system.
"The idea is to not over treat young women for having a transient HPV infection," she said.
Disagreements regarding the side effects
Certain types of the virus can lead to cervical cancer, while other types can cause genital warts, according to the Gardasil Web site. Side effects of Gardasil include pain at the injection site, headaches and fever, among others.
However, Wright hasn't seen most of those side effects.
"The only side effect I've heard is that it hurts more than other vaccines," she said.
On the other hand, organizations such as the National Vaccine Information Center disagree with the severity of side effects of the vaccination. A February 2009 analysis of two vaccines, Gardasil and Menactra, took information from the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, which was created under the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986. It became operational in 1990, according to the analysis.
The NVIC's analysis shows there have been 29 reported deaths from Gardasil alone. Symptoms reported to the VAERS system include 23 reports of blood clots and nine reports of cardiac arrest. Others include stroke and vasculitus.
According to the report's conclusion, Gardasil seemed to be associated with high reports of atypical collapse and related symptoms. The report goes on to say that the FDA should look into the health issues and deaths related to Gardasil as shown by the VAERS results and their analysis.
On the other side
In general, Wright said she prefers the usage of vaccinations herself and hasn't heard about Gardasil being more or less dangerous than other vaccines.
"I think they help boost our bodies immune systems by giving a small amount, either alive or dead, of the organism that could cause that infection," she said.
She added that by teaching people's bodies to recognize foreign matter, they would be able to fight it off.
With Gardasil, someone's body will recognize one of the four types it covers if they come in contact with it during intercourse and the person will hopefully be able to fight it off, she added.
Wright said it's very difficult to require vaccinations.
"In terms of public health … you should have widespread vaccines," she said. "The more people who are vaccinated, the more people there are that are immune to these viruses and less to spread to people who don't have the vaccine."
Be the first to comment on this story