As a healthcare professional, a colleague asks your opinion as to which HPV strains should be covered in a new treatment. Based on your reading from the Sarid and Gao 2011 article, what would your recommendation be, and when should the treatment be administered?
Based on the Sarid and Gao 2011 article, I recommend that HPV’s 16, 18, 31, and 35 be covered for all woman in the new treatment plan and HPV’s 16 and 18 for all men. The article states that HPV 16, 18, 31, and 35 have historically been the cause of up to 80% of all cervical cancer cases in women. A family history of HPV warrants coverage of the remaining high-risk stains for men and the “possible carcinogenic” strains for women. The Center for Disease control website states that although cervical cancer was at one point the deadliest form of cancer for women, the number of deaths has greatly decreased due to regular screenings. Vaccinations and regular screenings is one method to try to completely eradicate the disease. The cost associates with the development and approval of vaccines is great, but is an investment in the healthcare of all humans. Once the disease is under control, the public cost associated with the disease will decrease.