18 Percent of Women in U.S. Carry Cervical-Cancer Virus

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2000. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

18 Percent of Women in U.S. Carry Cervical-Cancer Virus

Deseret News (www.deseretnews.com) (12/07/00) P. A9

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported this week that almost 18 percent of women in the United States and 8 percent of American men carry the human papillomavirus (HPV). More than 95 percent of cervical cancer cases are caused by the virus, and the HPV-16 strain causes half of those cases. According to the research, the highest rates of HPV-16 infection were among African-American women between the ages of 20 and 29. In all, about 12.5 percent of whites and 19.1 percent of African-Americans carry HPV-16. Dr. Judith Wasserheit, director of the STD Prevention Program at the CDC, said that HPV is the most common sexually transmitted disease among young people who are sexually active.
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