Oct 24 2007
Finding the balance against HPV 526 3 OF 3
Koutsky had to go elsewhere to learn more about HPV; for this she tapped into the clinic of the University of Washington, focusing more on women who have had less than four sexual partners so far. The results of these studies were the foundation of determining the history of the disease. Koutsky was able to find out what causes HPV and cervical cancer, as well as who is more likely to get it and when it happens the most.
The information served as more than enlightenment, as apparently it became the basis for vaccine development. And these vaccines have been proven effective, based on the continued studies of Koutsky during 2002 and 2007.
A study on people who have taken these vaccines before have shown that their immune systems are able to tackle HPV, sustaining the absence of its infections for an average period of one to three years. Around a big 15 percent of the time, the virus has the chance of lingering, eventually resulting in warts. If this would happen, Pap smears have to be done regularly to detect lesions which may lead to cancer.
That was before. Today, after nearly 20 years of development, an answer which addresses HPV and Cervical Cancer has come in the form of Gardasil, a vaccine from Merck that protects people from four types of HPV. GP
