According to Dr. Casimiro Obispo, president of the Sociedade Galega de Xinexoloxía, this is the best strategy to end HPV, responsible for all cancers of the cervix, 40% of those of the penis and 90% of those of the anus. .
–What impact does the human papilloma virus have?
–According to studies, 80% of sexually active people will become infected with HPV at some point in their life if proper precautions are not taken. It is one thing for them to have it and another for them to develop the disease. HPV infection is especially relevant in women, since it is responsible for practically all cases of cervical cancer, which is the second most frequent cancer in women between the ages of 15 and 44, after cancer breast. This is the reason why preventive strategies have focused on them. However, just because a woman has HPV does not mean that she will develop this cervical cancer. With proper reviews, they will not develop it.
-How to prevent?
–In 99.9% of cases, HPV is contracted through sexual intercourse, so the only prevention is not having sexual intercourse, which is not logical, or using a condom. The problem is the misuse of condoms, which favors transmission. In the consultation I see that there is a high degree of error in its use: they take it off improperly, they put it on when they feel like it, they don’t have it during the entire act.
–Since 1995, the HPV vaccine has been included in the vaccination schedule for girls and is administered at 12 years of age. However, they have long insisted that it be extended to children. Why?
– We cannot remain only with the vaccination of the girls. We must take a step forward so that the burden of HPV prevention does not fall exclusively on women and so that it is truly everyone’s business. The prevention of HPV without distinction of gender is the best strategy to achieve herd immunity and the protection of the population. Along the same lines, among the new recommendations of this year 2021, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics recommends universal systematic immunization against HPV in both girls and boys, preferably at 11-12 years of age, to prevent oncological disease related to this virus. Today, all girls born after 1995 should be vaccinated, but if any woman born after that year, for whatever reason, did not get vaccinated and wants to do it, she has to know that vaccination is still free for her.
– Do you recommend it? Is vaccination at 26 as effective as at 12?
– I not only recommend it, but from the Galician Society of Xinecoloxía we want all women born after 1985 to be vaccinated and we set this date because we have to put a cut.
–Human papillomavirus encompasses about 200 different viruses. Does the vaccine cover them all?
-Do not. It covers those with the most oncogenic power, but, as with all viruses, there is what is called a cross reaction, so that if a vaccinated woman comes into contact with an HPV not included in the vaccine, an immune response can occur.
– Does society know what HPV is and its risks?
– You really know little about it despite the fact that it is responsible for 5% of cancers that can be diagnosed in both men and women. For this reason, we believe that it is important to improve information and thus increase awareness about this sexually transmitted disease and its consequences in the general population and, above all, to raise awareness about the importance of its prevention.
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