by Haley Berley
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The p
Out of 20 million cases in the United States, and more than 600 million cases worldwide, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Yet despite the high prevalence, only 37 percent of college students have ever heard of it.
HPV it can infect anyone who has ever had a sexual encounter. It is spread through skin-to-skin contact, not through an exchange of bodily fluid. Therefore intercourse is not necessary to contract it. Due to this nature, it is estimated that nearly 80 percent of sexually active people will contract it at some point in their lives.
For some strains (there are more than 100), the virus is harmless and 90 percent of people have no symptoms. The body clears most of the infection naturally. The 14 higher-risk strains cause cervical lesions in women that over a period of time, can develop into cancer if untreated.
Cervical cancer is completely preventable if precancerous cell changes are detected and treated early before cervical cancer develops. You can screen for cervical cancer with a Pap test.
If administered, the vaccinations protect you from the 9 most high-risk strains.