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The Human Papillomavirus Vaccine Protects Against Future Disease

  • Published
  • By Dana McCullough
  • Health.mil
FALLS CHURCH, Va., --  The human papillomavirus vaccine, originally targeted to preteen girls, is now recommended for boys as well.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, according to the National Institutes of Health. "You're not going to prevent a sexually transmitted disease ... if you only immunize the women," said Lt. Col. Amy Costello, chief of immunization policy for the Air Force Medical Support Agency.

This disease can cause cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancer in women and penile, anal and throat cancers in men. Costello said the Food and Drug Administration waited until there was evidence that use of the HPV vaccine could also prevent cancers in boys before recommending that they receive it. Children should get the vaccine at age 11 or 12.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that about 79 million Americans, most in their late teens and early 20s, have HPV. Another 14 million become newly infected each year. The disease is so common that nearly all sexually active men and women in the U.S. get it at some point in their lives. In most cases it simply goes away without causing any health problems.

The virus is spread through skin-to-skin contact during sexual activity. Someone can have it without knowing it and unintentionally spread it to others.

Some parents may think their child does not need the vaccine because the child is too young or not sexually active, said Costello, a mother of two. "Obviously, you want to do it before the child is sexually active."

Although many parents believe their child won't engage in sexual activity until marriage, Costello cautioned that there's no assurance their spouse won't be infected. "It's such a common virus it only takes one time to have an unplanned encounter, and then you're exposed to this virus that you didn't need to get," she explained.

Presently, there are two HPV vaccines, Cervarix and Gardasil licensed by the Food and Drug Administration. The injections are administered three times over the course of six months. For example, if a child receives the first dose on her eleventh birthday, then the second dose is given two months later. The third shot is given six months from the date of the first one.

The other thing Costello said she tells parents is that not all sex is consensual. Your child may have no intention of having sex. "The vaccine has recently been recommended for individuals who have experienced sexual abuse or non-consensual sex," she added.

Young people ages 13 through 26 years who have not yet received the vaccination are also encouraged to get it.

Costello pointed out the purpose of the Pap smear is to detect precancerous changes on the cervix, which, in a majority of cases, are due to HPV. "People talk all the time about their abnormal Pap smears unaware that the test results are due to this virus," said Costello. Further testing is needed to confirm. The CDC estimates four out of five of U.S. women have it by the time they are 50 years old. "More of us have it than don't."

She noted that 100 years ago, cervical cancer was the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. Once the Pap smear was invented, the incidence of cervical cancer was curbed. However, in developing nations where few women undergo Pap smears, cervical cancer is endemic. "It's still a big cause of death in women. The good news is the vaccine can be used in [those] places ... [It] could be ... lifesaving there."