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Did you cognize cervical crab is the 4th astir common crab successful women worldwide, with Sub-Saharan Africa carrying immoderate of the highest rates? What makes this adjacent much striking is that astir each cervical crab cases are preventable done vaccination and regular screening.
HPV (Human Papillomavirus) is astatine the bosom of the conversation. HPV corruption is common, it’s silent, and astir everyone volition travel crossed it/get infected with it astatine immoderate constituent successful their lives. Luckily, astir people’s immune strategy volition wide it out. But here’s the hopeful part: extortion is possible, particularly for young girls aged 9–14.
As we make consciousness connected HPV and cervical cancer, we person designed this FAQ to reply the astir important questions for parents, guardians, young girls, teachers, and communities.
Understanding HPV
What is HPV?
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is 1 of the astir communal infections successful the world. There are implicit 200 types. Some of them person a debased oregon precocious hazard of causing cervical cancer. While galore types wide up connected their ain without causing harm, immoderate high-risk types tin pb to abnormal changes and past to cervical crab and different cancers.
Who tin get HPV? How does it spread?
Anyone tin get HPV. It spreads chiefly done skin-to-skin contact, particularly during intersexual activities. HPV cannot beryllium dispersed by sharing clothes, towels, oregon mundane objects.
How communal is HPV?
Extremely common. In fact, astir 8 successful 10 people volition beryllium infected with HPV astatine immoderate constituent successful their lives. The highest rates are recovered successful young adults nether 25, but anyone tin get it during intersexual activity.
What diseases tin HPV cause?
HPV tin origin genital warts – tiny skin-coloured, brownish oregon whitish bumps that look successful the genital area. Some HPV types tin besides origin cancers, including astir each cases of cervical cancer, astir vaginal and penile cancers, and immoderate anal, mouth, and pharynx cancers.
Cervical Cancer Basics
What is cervical cancer?
Cervical crab develops erstwhile high-risk HPV types origin abnormal changes successful the cells of the cervix (the little portion of the womb). If these abnormal cells aren’t detected and treated, they tin make into cancer. This process usually takes 15–20 years, which means there’s clip for aboriginal detection and prevention.
How communal is cervical cancer?
Cervical crab is the fourth astir communal crab successful women globally, with astir 660,000 caller cases and 350,000 deaths recorded successful 2022. Rates are highest successful low- and middle-income countries, particularly successful Sub-Saharan Africa. In Nigeria, cervical crab is the 2nd astir communal crab aft bosom cancer. In 2022, cervical crab accounted for 13,676 cases retired of 127,763 caller crab cases.
Unlike astir cancers, it tends to impact younger women – astir often betwixt ages 35–45. Women surviving with HIV are six times much apt to make it.
What are the symptoms of HPV corruption and cervical cancer?
Most HPV infections origin nary symptoms and wide up people wrong 1–2 years. Sometimes, HPV causes genital warts, which whitethorn itch, bleed, oregon origin mild discomfort.
Cervical crab develops dilatory (over galore years) and whitethorn not origin symptoms astatine first. When symptoms bash appear, they tin include:
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