Nothe world, almost one in three males over the age of 15 are carriers of a human papilloma virus, or HPV, infection. And one in five is infected with one of the types of viruses considered high risk.
Why is this important information? Because this data, which emerged from a study published in The Lancet Global Health a few months ago, he told us that the male population represents an important basin for the infection and that, ultimately, HPV is not just a female problem. Far from it.
When the human papilloma virus is harmful
It is a very widespread virusis mostly transmitted through sexual contact and in the vast majority of cases does not cause symptoms the immune system gets rid of it without us realizing it. But sometimes things turn out differently.
In males, the most common manifestation of HPV is anogenital warts, tumors (of the mouth, pharynx, anus and penis) are less frequent. Certainly the numbers are more limited compared to the 625 thousand cases of cervical cancer per year worldwide, all due to the virus, but we are still talking about around 70 thousand men who get sick (a little more than a tenth of female ones).
There are some useful strategies to protect yourself: the common sense rules of safe sex and an effective and free vaccine for adolescents. How many of our kids know all this? And how many parents?
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