14/09/2022
Human papillomavirus (HPV) spreads by skin-to-skin contact, including sexual contact. While condoms are an important way to prevent most sexually transmitted infections, they do not provide complete protection from HPV infections, because they do not cover all exposed ge***al skin.
There are more than 100 strains of HPV, including more than 40 that infect the cervix and approximately 15 that cause cervical cancer. Every year, about 12,000 women in the U.S. are diagnosed with cervical cancer and 4,000 women die from the disease.
HPV causes an estimated 36,000 cases of cancer in men and women every year in the U.S. HPV vaccination can prevent more than 32,000 of these cancers from developing by preventing the infections that cause those cancers.
Nationally, HPV infections and cervical precancers (abnormal cells on the cervix that can lead to cancer) have dropped significantly since the vaccine has been in use. HPV vaccines can prevent infection with the types of HPV most likely to cause cancer and ge***al warts. The vaccines are most effective when given at a younger age (between ages 9 and 12).
The benefits of HPV vaccination are clear: • Among teen girls who were vaccinated, infections with HPV strains that cause most HPV cancers and ge***al warts have dropped 86%. • Among young adult women, infections with those strains have dropped 71%. • Among vaccinated women, the percentage of cervical precancers caused by the HPV strains most often linked to cervical cancer has dropped 40%.
Most people infected with HPV have no symptoms or problems caused by the infection. In 10–20% percent of women, however, HPV infection does not go away, creating a greater risk of developing cervical pre-cancer and cancer. It usually takes, on average, 20 to 25 years for an HPV infection to cause cervical cancer. That’s why it's important to get regular screenings (Pap test, HPV tests or both) to detect cervical abnormalities early before cancer develops.