HPV vaccine recommendations have been expanded

When Sony Pictures was hacked in 2017, the world learned that the company required actors to fill out a Cold Sore Questionnaire in an attempt to prevent the spread of the herpes simplex virus on the set. Nationally, around 50 per cent of adults are infected with oral herpes.

Like the herpes virus, human papilloma virus spreads through physical contact, and an HPV Questionnaire would reveal that 90 percent of men and 80 percent of women have been infected with at least one type of HPV at some point in their life. Around one-half of those infections are from an HPV strain associated with high risk for anogenital warts and cancer. The good news: An HPV vaccination, Gardasil 9, can prevent anogenital warts and over 90 percent of HPV-related cancers from nine strains of the virus.

The very good news: The Food and Drug Administration has approved the vaccine for adults 27 to 45.

That’s because even if you’ve been exposed previously to HPV, the vaccine can protect you from future infections that affect different body parts (anus, throat, vagina, cervix, penis).

One study looked at the effectiveness of a vaccine that tackled HPV-16 and -18 (the main cancer-causing strains) and found that it was 58 per cent effective in preventing oral, cervical and anal cancer in previously infected women and a “nonsignificant” 25 per cent (although not to those 25 per cent!) with active cervical HPV16/18 infection. So even if you’ve had an HPV infection, vaccination can provide protection, especially if you’ve been in a nonmonogamous relationship or want to protect yourself in future relationships.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune into “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www.sharecare.com.