1. Only men transmit HPV
Incorrectly. Both men and women can transmit human papillomaviruses to sexual partners. A man who is a carrier of HPV got HPV from someone. If he is heteronormative, it means that he was with a woman who infected him and then he transmits the virus to the next partner.
2. Only women can get the infection
What is the difference is that in men it usually passes without any major problems, while in women the damage to the epithelial cells, if not detected and treated in time, turns into cervical cancer. Men also have an HPV infection. However, it would be incorrect to say that in men HPV infection can in no way cause cancer or condyloma / warts and other problems - men are not immune to this, so HPV infections are very common after which warts appear on the penis, and cytological changes are not uncommon. , and cancer of the anus and throat. Just because someone doesn’t have a cervix doesn’t mean they can’t get HPV infection or that they can’t get malignant changes caused by HPV.
Both men and women are at equal risk of contacting the HPV virus.
3. HPV cannot be obtained in the first sexual contact
Incorrectly. I have already written about that. The truth is different - HPV infections are so widespread that many of them occur during the first sexual experience, especially if condom protection is not used, which increases the risk. Demographically, infections are most prevalent in the teen population. The risk of contacting the virus increases with the number of a person’s previous partners.
4. Cervical cancer is acquired only by older women, those in menopause
Incorrectly. In fact, the risk decreases at that age. The risk is greatest in women in their twenties and thirties.
5. HPV infections are rare
Incorrectly. It is true that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. There are more than 100 different types of HPV, and a significant percentage of men and women are exposed to at least one type of virus during early adulthood. 4 out of 5 Americans will have an infection with some of these strains during their lifetime, which is about 80%, and we can assume that the situation is similar around the world. In addition to being a very common virus, most people never develop symptoms or health problems, and the virus is unknowingly passed on to their partners. However, what for one person is a subclinical infection that the body fights on its own and does not lead to cytological damage, for another person may be something that will lead to cancer.
6. If I have HPV, I will definitely get cancer
Incorrectly. There are about 150 types of HPV, and types 16 and 18 are the most at risk for developing cervical cancer. About 70% of cervical cancers are caused with these two types of human papilloma virus. However, cervical cancer does not develop just like that, in a few days or months. Let’s say Pap examinations once a year are quite enough to detect malignant changes in time. So we have those CIN findings of varying degrees. CIN 1
denotes first-degree cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. This name indicates the presence of abnormally (dysplastic) altered cells of the cervix, which is why this change is often called dysplasia of lower or milder degree. In other words, it is the mildest degree of abnormal cell changes caused by the HPV virus. The next stage is CIN 2 and 3, but these are not cervical cancer findings - these are findings that someone has a precancerous change - a change that precedes cervical cancer. That is why we need regular check-ups, and we must not allow neglect. Precancerous changes can be treated and thus prevent difficult surgical procedures.
7. HPV infections are caused by a drop in immunity
This is half true. Namely, in people who have serious immunodeficiencies, the risk that the body will not fight the infection on its own is higher. Let's repeat - our immune system does not protect us from contacting any pathogen, but it helps us fight it. This thesis about how HPV infections occur due to a decrease in immunity is probably a layman's simplified fact that it often happens that the organism fights the HPV virus on its own, and that this is not the case with people with immunodeficiency. Cytological changes due to HPV infection occur not only due to immunodeficiency, but also due to a number of other factors that increase the risk - if you do not go regularly for Pap (and other) gynecological examinations, if a person smokes, if a person often changes partners and if a person entered into sexual contact early. So, it is not only immunity that we rely on.
HPV infections occur, how can I tell you - because we were intimate with someone and did something.
8. HPV is curable
This is half true. It depends on how it is taken. It is true that many people fight the infection without even knowing that they have had it, and it is true that if some damage to the epithelial cells has occurred, it is possible to treat it. But this is not always the case - everyone reacts individually and an infection with a strain of HPV passes without consequences and heals, without causing cytological changes, while in another person it can have consequences. We cannot know which group we belong to. Vaccines combined with regular gynecological examinations are key to combating cervical cancer and infections with several strains of this virus. We don't have screenings - examinations that could determine the appearance of cock changes on some other mucous membranes - that's why throat and anus cancers often go under the radar, unfortunately.
9. The HPV vaccine only protects against cervical cancer
The HPV vaccine, especially the nine-valent one, protects against infection with the types of HPV virus that the vaccine contains. The most important thing is that the vaccine protects against those two high-risk types - HPV 16 and 18 (and all three HPV vaccines that exist in the world protect against these strains). However, other strains contained in the vaccine also protect us from cell changes in other parts of the body, and even from warts and throat or anus cancer. Let’s not forget that there is also cancer of the vulva and vagina, which are also caused by HPV infections. But the vaccine does not protect us from some other types of HPV (let's not forget that there are about 150), but again - these other types are not so dangerous. The vaccine against HPV infections does not contain viruses, but only some of their parts that initiate the immune activity of our body and the production of appropriate antibodies. The more of these types of components from different strains of the virus a vaccine contains, the more strains it protects us from.
10. The HPV vaccine is not safe or effective
This is a total lie. A series of three doses is the most effective way to prevent HPV and is designed to expose young people to antigens from these viruses before they become sexually active, so that their bodies build immunity before contacting the virus.There is a wealth of scientific evidence that HPV vaccines, especially Gardasil-9, which protects against 9 forms of HPV, are safe and effective. And one of the latest proofs of this is the rapid practical eradication of cervical cancer in the Australian and Nordic populations, which have been vaccinated thanks to comprehensive HPV vaccination programs. A study in NEJM published in October 2020 showed a substantially reduced risk of cervical cancer, and a study in the Lancet, published in June 2020, is the final analysis of the effectiveness of HPV vaccines that showed that the incidence of cervical cancer decreased in 14 years of use. and vaccinated persons are seropositive, ie. have antibodies to the HPV virus. In particular, the Gardasil 9 vaccine is proof that science works.
11. A condom protects against HPV infection
Using a condom significantly reduces the risk of infection, but does not eliminate it. There are parts of the skin that are in contact during intercourse where the virus can still come. There are also problems with contacting the virus during oral sex, which, well, we don't believe people use condoms, do they?
এই ভাইরাস সম্পর্কে জানতাম না এখন জানলাম থ্যাংকস ইনফর্মেশন করুন জানানোর জন্য