HPV and CA

The HPV Vaccine and California
By Kevin Yuan


Genital human papilloma virus, also called HPV, is by far the most common sexually transmitted infection, especially in the United States. There are more than a hundred strains of the virus, where less than half cause some form of genital infection, or something far worse, such as cervical cancer. In the span of 5 years, initial results suggest the vaccine has been found to prevent nearly 100 percent of precancerous cervical cells that would have been cause by two specific HPV strains (16&18). For some time, California has considered requiring the vaccine.  Vaccine but noting the success of the vaccine based on voluntary terms, California should not mandate or require young girls to have the HPV vaccine before entering middle school. Instead, it should only be a recommendation for this vaccine.


Despite the initial minor side effects associated with the vaccine, it is still too new to discount possible adverse side-effects in a 10 or even 20 year span. Ultimately, guardians of those young girls should make the decision themselves, after researching the benefits and consequences associated with the vaccine. Guardians can make an educated decision as to whether or not to have the vaccination for their children.


Even though cervical cancer is a serious issue, the HPV vaccine is extremely expensive. When we look at the different types of cancers in the United States, cervical cancer accounts for about 0.006 percent and the annual incidence count in California is only 1,488 according to the National Cancer Institute from time period 2004-2008. In addition, as of now, there are already effective treatments and screenings for cervical cancer. When a mandate is in order, things have to go into motion, and insurance companies will have to cover it in the states. Health care money is then prioritized in this one specific area, even though resources are limited. According to LA Times on March 16, 2010, nearly 1 out of 4 people in California under the age of 65 lack health insurance, and mandatory measures for this vaccine will shift already limited health care dollars towards only one asset involving HPV infections. Resources have to go into low socioeconomic areas where people are having trouble even having access to care, and getting better delivery of health where they could get screened and covering for not only cervical cancer but also a variety of health issues.


Although many advocates who wish to require the HPV vaccine by law may argue it will achieve widespread protection of the disease, we have to look at people’s liberty concerns. Understandably, universal protection is ideal but forcing little girls to have a government injection through a junction such as an executive order is wrong. The NPR reported on September 11, 2011 that the executive order mandating the HPV vaccine in Texas was overturned. Even Governor Rick Perry considers his decision a mistake and confers that “If I had to do it over again, I would have done it differently.” The fact that this law was proposed infringes on the people’s rights to make their own decisions. This is a liberty that cannot be overlooked despite the universal protection the vaccine might offer. However, the law was overturned, showing that the concern for the individual’s rights remains.

In conclusion, the HPV vaccine represents a significant breakthrough for women’s health. But, required immunization in California is a gesture that is unreasonable given the premature state of the vaccine, the decisions guardians have over their children and also the strain it will have on health care dollars. Instead, the vaccine should be available for those who want to be the vaccinated.

Public Health Crisis in Madagascar -- Ascaris

By Kevin Yuan

Ascaris lives in the intestine, and Ascaris eggs are passed in the feces of infected individuals. Ascaris lumbrocoids or Ascariasis infections are usually treated using benzamidazoles, such as Mebendazole or Albendazole. Although these anti-parasitics are chemically similar and both are extremely effective, the recommended dosage may vary. In the current state of our economy, expenses allocated regarding health issues are severely limited, especially when those allocations are towards topics affecting other countries. Given the limitations, countries that are determined to help Madagascar with its current Ascariasis crisis should allocate their  available funds should be used to hire teachers and build latrines, than to purchase anti-parasitics for those at risk in Madagascar.

The money in place should be used to fund teachers and latrines, because Ascariasis is a perpetual problem for Madagascans. The vulnerability of the 20 million people in Madagascar to Ascaris demands that long-term measures must be taken in order to provide the greatest benefits for reducing Ascaris infections in the future. Although the anti-parisistics used to treat Ascariasis are effective, the money available would not be able to treat all the children in Madagascar; in addition, Ascaris is an infection that can be acquired repeatedly, even after one gets treatment. The source of transmission is from ingestion of eggs from soil contaminated with human feces and is prevalent in areas with poor hygiene. With over 85% (as indicated by GEXSI) of the country’s inhabitants living in rural areas, the lack of hygiene, nutrition, and access to drinking water enables great susceptibility to Ascariasis. 

A significant portion of revenue available should be distributed to establishing latrines to reduce open defecation. With communal latrines costing from 250, low-cost communal latrines can be established. The money should be distributed to schools in rural villages where not only students will have access to the latrines, but also inhabitants of homes located near the schools. As Kightlinger et al mentions, “children were allowed to defecate in the village with 13% habitually defecating within 10m of their house.” The lack of sanitary measures illustrates the susceptibility of people, especially children, to Ascariasis. Ultimately, with the establishment of latrines, the benefits will drastically improve sanitary conditions.  

Part of the funds available should be used for hiring teachers who are well-informed about sanitation, especially regarding Ascaris infection. With money distributed towards education, health teachers can be hired to educate schoolteachers about hygiene, and that information can be passed to students. Hygiene education should build children’s knowledge to transmit information on appropriate health practices to families and communities. This education will also incline children that live near the school to utilize the latrines. Harnessing the health skills will provide long-term benefits. The half million should also be spent on “materials to support health promotion activities and habits, including posters, exercise books, and stickers posted on latrine and classroom doors” as suggested by UNICEF. Bringing teachers to educate about the importance of sanitation will show significant benefits in the long-run. 

In conclusion, we can clearly see that in order to generate the greatest benefit from the money, the funds should be utilized in a way to educe a long-term solution contrary to a short-lived solution by using the money for antiparistics.

Infectious Diseases and Public Health

By Alice Huang 

Infectious diseases, which are also referred to as communicable or contagious diseases are caused by germs or pathogenic microorganisms such as fungi, viruses, bacteria and parasites among others. From their name, these diseases are highly infectious or contagious, which means that their means mode of transmission is from one individual to another either directly or indirectly. The transmission of these diseases occur in a number of ways such as through physical contact, body fluids, contaminated food, transmission by vector organisms and airborne inhalation among others. Research indicates that infectious diseases are very dangerous and that they are responsible for more deaths than any other single cause (Britannica Educational Publishing, 2011).

The history or background of infectious diseases can be traced back to many centuries ago and it is believed that most of them such as malaria, may have originated from the tropical forests of Africa. This is also one of the reasons why these diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis are referred to as tropical diseases. Over the years, a lot of research has been dedicated into the cures and sustainable solutions for eradicating communicable diseases, most of which have borne fruits through major developments (Britannica Educational Publishing, 2011). The research has helped in coming up with ways to control, treat, eradicate and prevent the diseases. Without doubt, these researches have helped in solving millions of people across the globe.

For instance, small pox, which is regarded as one of the most dangerous infectious diseases, was completely eradicated in 1979, after the discovery of the small pox vaccine. Infectious diseases are often classified in accordance to their causes. For instance, as indicated earlier, the major causes of infectious diseases include bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and parasites among others. Some of the major infectious diseases in the world include tuberculosis, malaria, various types of flu such as swine flu and avian flu, small pox, chicken pox, typhoid meningitis, tetanus, Hepatitis B, Syphilis and Measles among others. 

Majority of these infectious diseases are life threatening and they therefore have a major impact on the lifestyles of people. For instance, it some of them are very expensive to treat once contracted especially in terms of finances and time needed for patient management. They also affect the daily lives of people such that whenever there is an outbreak, people have to stay very alert to avoid infections especially for those transmitted through the air (Britannica Educational Publishing, 2011).

 Majority of these infectious diseases are preventable through vaccines and medication after consultation with medical professionals. However, one of the basic and most effective ways of preventing the spread of communicable diseases is by observing hygiene in all aspects of our daily lives. Community awareness is also another way to prevent communicable diseases, in this way the government and some NGO’s are actively involved in educating the communities on ways and measures to curb spread and diseases. In most cases vaccines and medication for such diseases is offered for free. In addition, other cures and solutions for prevention of infectious diseases include immunization, especially for newly-borns which should be kept up to date, eat healthy and hygienically foods, use antibiotics as per the prescription of the doctors, seeking medical attention if infection persists even after medication, being cautious around al, wild animals as well as unfamiliar domestic animals, avoiding unprotected sex, staying alert especially when visiting undeveloped and high risk disease areas as well as areas of insect infestation. 

Some of the major infectious diseases in the world including tuberculosis, malaria, various types of flu such as swine flu and avian flu, small pox, chicken pox, typhoid meningitis, tetanus, Hepatitis B, Syphilis and Measles among others attract major scrutiny from the governments and organizations.

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About the Author: Alice Huang is  a sophomore at UC Berkeley, with a major in Molecular and Cellular Biology. She loves to write and writing has become her way of expression for the occurrences in her daily life! She is interested in public health primarily because she likes learning about nutrition and thinks that maintaining a healthy body is more important than trying to find cures to the variety of diseases out there in the world.