Over 20% of US adults infected with high-risk HPV: study

During a recent two-year period, almost 23 per cent of US adults aged 18 to 59 were detected with a genital human papillomavirus (HPV) that put them at high risk of certain cancers, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report published today.

That percentage shot more than 42 per cent during 2013 to 2014 if any type of genital HPV was included, according to the CDC. In both groups, prevalence was higher in men than in women, with blacks having much higher incidence than any other racial and ethnic groups.

''We tend to overlook the fact that 20 per cent of us are carrying the virus that can cause cancer,'' said Geraldine McQuillan, lead author of the report and a senior infectious disease epidemiologist in the Division of Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys at the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, The Washington Post reported. ''People really need to realize that this is a serious concern.''

According to the CDC's estimates, HPV was the most common sexually transmitted disease in the US with nearly 80 million people currently infected and about 14 million new infections occurring annually among teenagers as also adults. Most of these went away on their own, typically without even causing symptoms, however, some HPV strains could lead to genital warts and cancer.

Meanwhile, a new study underway at Rutgers University was examining a revolutionary method of stopping the transmission of human papillomavirus (HPV), the organism that caused 99 per cent of cervical cancers.

The study led by researcher Mark Einstein was looking at the efficacy of the application of a topical gel during sexual activity. The product was a personal lubricant made from seaweed extracts commonly referred to as carrageenans.

Over 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year in the US, with more than 4,000 dying from it.

If the results proved turned out positive, women would be able to protect themselves and their sexual partners against potentially deadly HPV infection through the simple application of an inexpensive, over-the-counter product.