Condoms Offer Effective Protection for HPV

June 28th, 2006

A three-year study of 82 women volunteers, initially virgins, at the University of Washington showed that after becoming sexually active, they reduced their chances of contracting human papilloma virus (HPV) by 70% when partners always used a condom.

Women in the study kept journals of their sexual practices and were checked for HPV every four months with swabs of the cervix and other genital areas. They noted whether there was any genital contact before using the condom.

HPV can cause cervical cancer, genital warts, vaginal, vulvar, anal and penile cancers. It is the most common sexually transmitted disease (STD), infecting about 80% of young women within five years after becoming sexually active. HPV is frequently killed by the immune system, but in some women, the virus causes lesions that can become cancerous.

Worldwide, about 500,000 develop cervical cancer and nearly 300,000 die of it annually. In the U.S., some 3,500 women die of it each year.

Known to prevent AIDS and pregnancy, condoms are recently found to give significant protection against HPV, as well. Their use can also provide protection against gonorrhea, Chlamydia and herpes in men and women.

In early June, the U.S. government approved the first vaccine against HPV. If given to young women before they become sexually active, it could prevent them from ever contracting the virus.
Sources: CNN.com, San Francisco Chronicle; 6/22/06

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Entry Filed under: HPV,SEXUAL HEALTH