Invisible Human Papillomavirus

By Remedios V. Lucio

A romantic summer evening in Tagaytay with your special someone or a hot summer hook up in Puerto Galera with an uber-cute charming guy.  The possibilities are endless, not just for a relationship but….also sex.

Wait, are they both a boy scout and a girl scout when it comes to having sex?  Condoms, check. What about pills? Check.  Well then good for both of them because newsflash, there is such thing called as the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) website, “HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). The virus infects the skin and mucous membranes. There are more than 40 HPV types that can infect the genital areas of men and women, including the skin of the penis, vulva (area outside the vagina), and anus, and the linings of the vagina, cervix, and rectum.”

The scary thing with HPV is you don’t even know you have it already.  It is passed on through sexual intercourse, whether it’s vaginal or anal.

While HPV types are considered as “low-risk” or “high risk”, nonetheless protection is a must.  HPV can cause genital warts (low-risk) and worse, cervical cancer.  It also causes cancers of the vulva, vagina, anus and penis.

“Very rarely, a pregnant woman with genital HPV can pass HPV to her baby during vaginal delivery. In these cases, the child may develop warts in the throat or voice box--a condition called recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP),” says CDCP website.

Today, there is a vaccine that protects women from HPV.  It is best recommended for 11 and 12 year-old girls as well as ages 13 to 26 girls and women, who has not been vaccinated and completed the vaccine series.

For genital warts, it is detected by visual inspection. It can be cured by patients themselves with applied medications or by treatments by a health care provider.

There are several tests done to detect cervical cancer by undergoing a routine of “cervical cancer screening and follow-up of abnormal results. The Pap test can identify abnormal or pre-cancerous changes in the cervix so that they can be removed before cancer develops. An HPV DNA test, which can find high-risk HPV on a woman’s cervix, may also be used with a Pap test in certain cases.”  Cervical cancer can be cured if diagnosed and treated early.  There are various forms of surgeries; radiation therapy and chemotherapy are available today.