2019-06-01_Healthy_Food_Guide_UK_(2)

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B

ACKIN2008,THENHSintroduced

a newvaccinationschemefor

somestrainsofthehuman

papillomavirus(HPV)forgirlsaged 12

and13.Nowwe’refollowingAustralia’s

leadandofferingthevaccinetoboysof

thesameage.Butwhatis HPVandwhy

doweneeda vaccine?Herearethe 10

facts I believe everyone needs to know...

1

WhatisHPV?

Thisis thenamegiventoa group

ofviruses.Thereareover 100 different

types,around 40 ofwhichaffectthe

genitalarea.Someso-calledhigh-risk

typesarelinkedtothedevelopment

ofcancerofthecervix,anusandgenitals,

as well as cancers in the head and neck.

2

Whogetsit?

Mostpeoplewillbeexposedtothe

virusduringtheirlifetime.It’sspread

throughsexualcontact– butskin-to-skin

ratherthanthroughsemenorvaginal

fluids,soit’spossibletocontract HPV

even if you practise safe sex.

3

Whatarethesymptoms?

Therearenosymptomsatthetime

ofHPVinfection.SomestrainsofHPV

maycausegenitalwarts,butthese

canoccurmonthsorevenyearsafter

infection.AndsomestrainsofHPV

(types 16 and18)canleadtochanges

incellsthatcancausethemtobecome

cancerous over a period of years.

4

Whatisthetreatment?

There’snotreatmentforHPV,but

mostpeoplewillnaturallyclearthe

virusfromtheirbody within two years

of exposure.

DR DAWN’S

medical notes...

10

things you need to

know about HPV

5

Ifmostpeopleareexposedtothe

virus,whydosomepeopledevelop

cellchangeswhileothersdon’t?

Wedon’tfullyunderstandwhymost

peopleclearthevirusfromtheirbodies

withnolong-termproblemsandothers

goontodevelopcellchanges.Wedo,

however,knowthatsmokingaffects

theimmunesystemandsmokersare

atanincreasedriskofdevelopingcell

changes after infection with HPV.

6

IstheHPVvaccinesafe?

Thevaccineis verysafe.It hasbeen

throughstrictclinicaltrialsandhas

beenapprovedbytheMedicinesand

Healthcare products Regulatory Agency

(MHRA).Aroundonein 10 peoplemay

getsomerednessattheinjection site

anda temporary headache.

7

Whyisthevaccine given at such

ayoungage?

Itworksbestif it’sgivenbeforepeople

becomesexuallyactive,whichis whywe

administer it to children of that age.

8

Whyweren’tboys offered the vaccine

beforenow?

ThemainaimoftheHPVvaccination

programmewastoreducetheriskof

cervicalcancer,whichremainsthemost

commoncancerinwomenunder35,

sogirlswerethefocus.However,HPV

vaccinationalsoprotectsagainstsome

analandpenilecancers,whichis why

thevaccinationprogrammeis being

rolledout to include boys.

9

Doesthevaccineofferlifelong

protectionagainstdeveloping

cervicalcancerfromHPV?

Weknowthevaccineis effectiveforat

least 10 yearsandit’sthoughtthatit

maylastlonger.Studiesareongoing

tolookintothisfurther.However,while

nearlyallcervicalcancers(99.7%)are

causedbyinfectionwithhigh-risk

strainsofHPV, thevaccinationonly

protectsagainst70%ofthosestrains.

Thatmeansit willpreventmost, but

notall,cervical cancers.

10

Dopeoplewhohavebeen

vaccinatedstillneedsmeartests?

Yes.Asthevaccineisn’teffectiveagainst

everystrainofHPVthatcouldleadto

cervicalcancer,it’simportantforeveryone

to attend for screening when called.

❛

Thevaccineisn’t

effectiveagainstevery

strainofHPV,sowestill

need cervical screening

❜

DawnHarper’scolumnoncervicalcancertestinginourAprilissueledtoquestionsinour

mailbox about the human papillomavirus (HPV) that causes it. Here, she provides the answers

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JUNE 2019HEALTHY FOOD GUIDE 27