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SPecIal clInIcal SecTIon: peDiatRics HPV: A CoMPLICATED VACCINE accoRdIng To The cenTeRS FoR dISeaSe conTRol and PRevenTIon (cdc), almoST all SeXually acTIve PeoPle WIll conTRacT aT leaST one oF The moRe Than 150 TyPeS oF human PaPIllomavIRuS (hPv) In TheIR lIFeTImeS. moST oF TheSe InFecTIonS WIll cleaR on TheIR oWn, BuT aPPRoXImaTely 10 PeRcenT WIll develoP InTo SeRIouS medIcal condITIonS, IncludIng ceRvIcal canceR. The u.S. Food and dRug admInISTRaTIon haS aPPRoved TWo vaccInaTIonS agaInST hPv, BuT medIcal deBaTe aBouT The aPPRoPRIaTe TIme oF admInISTRaTIon and The geneRal PoPulaTIon'S gRoWIng FeaRS RegaRdIng The vaccIneS' SaFeTy conTInue. P aul DaRDen , mD, C M R I Ja mes Paul Linn Cha ir of Pediatrics, Chief of General and Community Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, co-authored a study published online in Pediatrics that illuminates rising percentages of vaccine declinations on the parts of parents contrasted by rising percentages of physicians recommending the vaccine. Dr. Darden says the vaccines — Gardasil or Cervarix — should be presented in the same manner as other vaccines. "I approach the HPV vaccines as I approach other vaccines, which is not 14 | Twin Cities MD News ■ mDnews.com as anything special, but as necessary for the preventive care of children," Dr. Darden explains. "The HPV vaccinations are exciting and different to present in some ways because while HPV is an infectious disease, the primary reason we vaccinate against it is to prevent cervical cancer." The National Cancer Institute (NCI) names HPV a major cause of cervical cancer, which accounts for nearly 250,000 deaths worldwide annually. Both vaccines effectively prevent types 16 and 18 HPV infections, which are linked to approximately 70 percent of cervical and anal cancers, according to the NCI. Neither protects against all strains of the virus. a Question of when B e c au se t he v acci nes pre vent rather than treat HPV, they should be administered prior to contraction to be f ully effective. This means vaccination must ideally occur before people engage in sexual activity. A 2011 survey conducted by the CDC shows that nearly half of all American high school students reported having engaged in sexual intercourse. Yet, Dr. Darden's study shows that parents cite sexual inactivity as one of the

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