New Survey Shows Nearly 25 Percent of Women in U.S. May Be Infected with HPV

According to the Center For Disease Control and Prevention, the instances of the human pipillomavirus (HPVP, a virus that in rare cases causes cervical cancer, is far greater than previously estimated. HPV, which has both high risk and low risk variations, was found in 26.8 percent of women in the United States, ages 14 to 59, based on data from more than 2,000 women tested. When extrapolated out to the entire population of women in the United States, this would mean more than 24.9 million women in the United States (in the studied age range), are currently affected.

Eileen Dunne, a physician with the Center for Disease Control, says "This means one in four women are infected with HPV. The prevalence was highest among the 20 to 24-year-old women. Almost half of those women were infected with HPV."

Although the prevalence of HPV was high, the high-risk variation, which can cause cervical cancer, was low. The authors of the study - released in the February 28, 2007, issue of The Journal of The American Medical Association - also said that although infection is common, 90 percent of HPV clears within two years.

The study revealed the following infection rates for the following age groups:

14 to 19 - 24.5%
20 to 24 - 44.8%
25 to 29 - 27.4%
30 to 39 - 27.5%
40 to 49 - 25.2%
50 to 59 - 19.6%

The study was conducted in order to find baseline population data in the United States. Merck, a pharmaceutical company, has released a cervical cancer vaccine approved by the FDA. This study will help assess how effective the vaccine is.

The vaccine from Merck can protect against four types of HPV, including types 6 and 11 (low risk strains with cause genital warts), and types 16 and 18 (high risk strains which cause cervical cancer), which were found in the women surveyed. HPV-16 was found in 1.5% of the women, while HPV-18 was found in only 0.8%. The lower risk types - HPV-6 and HPV-11 - were found in 1.3% and 0.1%, respectively.

Observers have suggested that this study may be used to promote the Merck vaccine Gardasil. The vaccine has been approved since June of 2006.

33 states have considered legislation to require girls ages 11-12 to get the vaccine to protect against cervical cancer, a stance that has caused a bit of controversy from some who feel this may lead to tacit approval of those girls becoming sexually active. The cancer the vaccine would protect against is rare, with 3700 deaths attributed to it each year in the United States.

Sources:

foodconsumer.org/7777/8888/Non-f_ood_Things_27/022811262007_Cervical_cancer_HPV.shtml
www.voanews.com/english/2007-02-28-voa47.cfm