Human papillomavirus or HPV is commonly known as a sexually transmitted disease. Even so, health experts are recommending teens and children as old as 11 to get the newly enhanced HPV vaccination.
According to the report from the Chicago Tribune, it is going to be a big challenge for pediatricians in the country to encourage parents to have their children immunized with the newly improved HPV vaccine because of the sexual nature of the virus' mode of transmission.
"I think there's this connotation that (because) it has something to do with sexual activity ... people just can't see their children in that light," Advocate Children's Hospital vice president of pediatric population health Dr. Frank Belmonte told Chicago Tribune.
The HPV vaccine has been available for many years already and it has been further improved. The old version of the HPV vaccine can only protect people from 65 percent of cancers caused by HPV while the new version gives an 80 percent protection. Those who have received the older version of the vaccine are not recommended to get the newer version, although there are no known harmful effects in doing so.
Dr. Belmonte also has an advice for pediatricians on the proper way of encouraging parents to have their kids vaccinated for HPV. "Really, we need to treat it like any other vaccine. The minute we show trepidation in our thought process, that reinforces parents' fear."
According to the CDC, most people infected with HPV do not know that they are infected because of the lack of visible symptoms. They only find out about it if genital warts appear or when they get abnormal results during their cervical cancer screening.
Aside from getting the HPV vaccine, there are also other ways to prevent HPV infection. Regular cervical cancer screening for women aged 21 to 65 as well as the use of condoms during intercourse can reduce the chances of acquiring HPV.
