Private MD News

HPV vaccine may prevent other genital conditions

Category: Sexually Transmitted Diseases

For individuals who have found out that they are positive for the human papillomavirus (HPV) following an STD test, it may be too late to avoid many of the complications that stem from the infection. However, a new study has found that individuals who are given the HPV vaccine are less susceptible to genital warts and pre-cancerous growths, two of the more common diseases related to the infection.

An international team of researchers tested the vaccine on 17,622 women between the ages of 16 and 26. Half of the group was given three rounds of vaccine while the other half was administered a placebo.

Results of the study showed that women who were given the vaccine were 83 percent less likely to develop genital warts and 75 percent less likely to develop non-cancerous vaginal growths.

The authors of the report - which was published in the British Medical Journal - wrote that these types of growths are among the most common results of HPV infection, and are a major source of concern to women experiencing them.

"Low-grade cervical and vulvovaginal lesions are important from a public health perspective, as the diagnosis, follow-up and treatment of these common lesions are associated with substantial patient anxiety, morbidity and healthcare costs," they wrote.