Genital warts rising by 30 percent a year
The incidence of genital viral warts on the island is rising by 30% every year in both men and women.
That was the verdict of Dr Constantinos Demetriou, President of the Cyprus Society of Dermatology and Venereology yesterday.
“If the increasing global numbers of sexually transmitted disease carriers spread fear, the numbers in Cyprus are shocking, considering its size,” he said. “These statistics call for an immediate education of the population, for it has become a public health issue.”
A news conference yesterday was the start of an intensive campaign for educating the public regarding genital warts, which are a result of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV).
“We do not have exact statistics for the island as diagnosis is difficult, with some people not even knowing that they are carriers until they are examined by a doctor.”
He then gave an example. “I am discovering warts in as many as 20 percent of women that come to me for laser hair removal of their bikini line.”
According to Demetriou, it has been estimated that 30 million people are infected every year, globally. “At the same time the problem in Cyprus is reaching disturbing levels due to the lack of education amongst the general public. The virus is not curable but there is prevention.”
The virus, which is mostly spread as a result of sexual intercourse, appears mainly in adults of both sexes with those aged 13-26 being more vulnerable. Symptoms of the virus include burning during urination, excretions of the urethra and vagina and unbearable itching or burning of the genital area during the night, and wounds, glandules and exanthema with or without symptoms in the genital area.
Nevertheless, the great majority of genital HPV infections never cause any overt symptoms and are cleared by the immune system in a matter of months.
Preventive measures against the virus include dermatological examinations once or twice per year, and women should have the Pap Test once every year. Therapeutic measures are taken with drugs, which mainly target the immune system of the carrier. Even though there is no cure, there is definite prevention with a quadrivalent vaccine against cervical cancer, which has the additional strength to offer complete prevention from HPV types 6 and 11, which cause genital warts. The vaccine has been available in Cyprus since January.
The Cyprus Society of Dermatology and Venereology highlights that the vaccine, against cervical cancer and genital warts, should be administered to boys and girls at the beginning of adolescence, as a protective measure against both diseases.
Monica Kyriacou is the medical advisor for Merck Sharp & Dohme, who hold the marketing authorisation for the Silgard vaccine against HPV.
“The vaccine is totally protective against the two main virus types that lead to genital warts,” she explained.
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