The HPV Vaccine Controversy

The Human Papilloma Virus, so-called HPV, is one of the most widespread sexually transmitted diseases in America, with more than 20 million infected now and more than 6 million new cases detected each year. It is estimated that at least 50 percent of all sexually active people will be infected during their lifetimes. And while the silent disease may cause no symptoms in most cases, two strains of HPV cause some 70 percent of all cervical cancer, which strikes more than 10,000 women in the United States alone each year. So it is with great fanfare than an HPV vaccine, tested around the world and approved by the US government in 2006, is being marketed. But controversy surrounds the vaccine, which is being recommended for girls as young as 9 and may be mandated by state governments. In this timely book, Shobha Krishnan, M.D., of Barnard College, Columbia University - a longtime gynecologist and family physician, and mother of a young daughter - explains in layterms both the disease and vaccine to parents, youths, men and women. She also addresses the controversy, legislative aims to require the vaccine, and another vaccine to hit the market this year. Krishnan also raises the issue of whether boys should get the vaccine. Coverage across the book is comprehensive and addresses both the pros and cons of anyone being innoculated.