In the United States there are currently 20 million people infected with the HPV virus and an additional 6.2 million are newly infected each year. Of every 100,000 women, 8.7 will develop invasive cervical cancer and 4000 women will die each year from this disease. In the past, prevention of cervical cancer was limited to screening Pap cytology. However, a HPV vaccine has recently been approved by the FDA and has been found to be 100% effective against the most common high-risk HPV virus strains.
In my practice as a women’s health Nurse Practitioner, I have seen the burdensome treatment and anguish of pre-cancerous conditions and the tragedy of cervical cancer caused by the HPV virus. It is my opinion that all young females should be offered and encouraged to receive this vaccine. Unfortunately at the present time no state is requiring this vaccine and few health insurance policies cover this expense. This is ridiculous.
A bipartisan group of female legislators representing the State of Michigan has introduced a bill requiring all girls entering the sixth grade to be vaccinated against the HPV virus. This is the first state to consider mandatory vaccination for this virus and should receive our enthusiastic support. It is also our obligation to help educate the public of this opportunity, inform our patients of their options and to encourage their vaccination. This vaccine should lead to a substantial reduction of cervical cancer and, hopefully, to the ultimate elimination of this disease.
www.cdc.gov/std/hpv
www.cancer.org
www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2006/NEW01385.html
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