Resources
- Genital HPV Infection - Fact SheetHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Some health effects caused by HPV can be prevented by the HPV vaccines.
- HPV vaccine: Who needs it, how it worksWho needs the HPV vaccine? How many doses? What about side effects? Get answers to these questions and more.
- HPV Vaccine Information For Young WomenA vaccines is available to prevent the human papillomavirus (HPV) types that cause most cervical cancers as well as some cancers of the anus, vulva (area around the opening of the vagina), vagina, and oropharynx (back of throat including base of tongue and tonsils). The vaccine also prevents HPV types that cause most genital warts.
- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) VaccinesHPV vaccines protect against infection with human papillomaviruses (HPV). HPV is a group of more than 200 related viruses, of which more than 40 are spread through direct sexual contact. Among these, two HPV types cause genital warts, and about a dozen HPV types can cause certain types of cancer—cervical, anal, oropharyngeal, penile, vulvar, and vaginal.
Research & Reference
- HPV Vaccine: Credo ReferenceA Credo Reference landing page on the HPV vaccine. This page includes links to reference works, journal articles, and a mind map.
- Human papillomavirus (HPV) in the U.S. - Statistics & FactsHuman papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States. There are over 150 different types of HPV, but only a small number are spread sexually and cause health problems. Most HPV infections are harmless and go away with time, but others can cause genital warts and cancer. Genital HPV infections are spread through vaginal, anal, and oral sex and can infect the vulva, vagina, cervix, rectum, anus, penis, scrotum, mouth, and throat. In most cases, those infected with HPV show no symptoms of the infection and do not even know they are infected. As of 2018, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that around 42.5 million people in the United States were living with HPV.
Streaming Media
- HPV: Issues and AnswersAccording to The American Journal of Medicine, over 70% of Americans have been infected with a genital human papillomavirus, yet few are aware that they have it—or even know what HPV is. This eye-opening program delivers the facts that high school and college students—the primary victims—need to raise their awareness about an incurable sexually transmitted disease. Doctors, professors, peer educators, and others provide concise information on topics including HPV’s link to genital warts and cervical cancer, the vital importance of pap smears, treatments, and research being done to eliminate HPV once and for all. (24 minutes)
Perspectives
The HPV Vaccine Controversy
The Human Papilloma Virus, so-called HPV, is one of the most widespread sexually transmitted diseases in America, with more than 20 million infected now and more than 6 million new cases detected each year. It is estimated that at least 50 percent of all sexually active people will be infected during their lifetimes. And while the silent disease may cause no symptoms in most cases, two strains of HPV cause some 70 percent of all cervical cancer, which strikes more than 10,000 women in the United States alone each year. So it is with great fanfare than an HPV vaccine, tested around the world and approved by the US government in 2006, is being marketed. But controversy surrounds the vaccine, which is being recommended for girls as young as 9 and may be mandated by state governments. In this timely book, Shobha Krishnan, M.D., of Barnard College, Columbia University - a longtime gynecologist and family physician, and mother of a young daughter - explains in layterms both the disease and vaccine to parents, youths, men and women. She also addresses the controversy, legislative aims to require the vaccine, and another vaccine to hit the market this year. Krishnan also raises the issue of whether boys should get the vaccine. Coverage across the book is comprehensive and addresses both the pros and cons of anyone being innoculated. Parents, teenagers, and young adults considering the HPV vaccine will find all of the answers to their questions in this book, which also features a chapter listing all of the questions asked, and answers given, when Krishnan ran an informational clinic for college students curious about the disease and the vaccine. The book also addresses the need for vaccine booster shots, what is known about side effects, and whether or not it can protect boys from contracting or transmitting the virus, or getting genital warts. In addition, a final chapter highlights some of the personal stories and anecdotes of cervical cancer from women in developing countries, and the role the vaccines could play in those countries.
Three Shots at Prevention
In 2007, Texas governor Rick Perry issued an executive order requiring that all females entering sixth grade be vaccinated against the human papillomavirus (HPV), igniting national debate that echoed arguments heard across the globe over public policy, sexual health, and the politics of vaccination. Three Shots at Prevention explores the contentious disputes surrounding the controversial vaccine intended to protect against HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection. When the HPV vaccine first came to the market in 2006, religious conservatives decried the government's approval of the vaccine as implicitly sanctioning teen sex and encouraging promiscuity while advocates applauded its potential to prevent 4,000 cervical cancer deaths in the United States each year. Families worried that laws requiring vaccination reached too far into their private lives. Public health officials wrestled with concerns over whether the drug was too new to be required and whether opposition to it could endanger support for other, widely accepted vaccinations. Many people questioned the aggressive marketing campaigns of the vaccine's creator, Merck & Co. And, since HPV causes cancers of the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, and anus, why was the vaccine recommended only for females? What did this reveal about gender and sexual politics in the United States? With hundreds of thousands of HPV-related cancer deaths worldwide, how did similar national debates in Europe and the developing world shape the global possibilities of cancer prevention? This volume provides insight into the deep moral, ethical, and scientific questions that must be addressed when sexual and social politics confront public health initiatives in the United States and around the world.