Gardasil Vaccine Now FDA Approved to Prevent Throat Cancer

On June 12, 2020, the FDA has (finally) approved an expanded indication for the Gardasil-9 vaccine for the prevention of throat and other head and neck cancers caused by the HPV virus. This vaccine was originally designed to prevent cervical cancer, but is now indicated to also prevent vulvar, vaginal, and anal cancers [ link ]. This FDA approval is long overdue given throat cancer due to the HPV virus is THE most common cause of throat cancer for young adults under 50 years of age... eve…

6/13/2020 0

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Oral HPV Infection is Prevalent in Adult Men

A population study was published in October 2017 revealing a high prevalence of oral HPV infection in men between ages 18 - 69 years. This study is important because HPV is known to increase the risk of not only cervical cancer, but also oral and throat cancer. And in young adults under 50 years, it causes more throat cancer than even smoking. [ more info ] From a public health policy concern, more importantly, it is also "contagious" in that one partner can transmit their HPV in…

10/22/2017 0

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Does Mouth-Breathing Decrease Risk of Viral Infections?

Image by Magnus Mertens in Wikipedia The New York Times published an article looking into this very question on Nov 11, 2016. However, the provided answer ("possibly") was incomplete. In essence, the question of whether mouth-breathing decreases risk of viral infections is based on the idea that contagious viruses spread via the nose by inhaling coughed/sneezed out water droplets infected with viral contagions. Unfortunately, such viruses can also be spread if such droplets …

11/16/2016 0

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How Much Bacteria Gets Transferred During Intimate Kissing?

Researchers in the Netherlands quantified how much bacteria gets transferred from one person to another during an intimate kiss (tongue on tongue action). What they found was that an average of 80 million bacteria gets transferred per 10 seconds of French kissing. How did they come up with this figure? Samples were obtained both before and after an intimate kiss of 10 seconds duration. One partner was  than asked to consume 50 ml of a probiotic yoghurt drink which contained organisms no…

11/17/2014 0

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Oral HPV Can Be Transmitted by Kissing

HPV  transmitted by  oral sex  is the leading cause of  oral  and throat cancer now surpassing throat cancer due to tobacco products and alcohol. The main concern is whether kissing can also transmit HPV. A small John Hopkins study suggested that kissing did not increase risk of oral HPV transmission, but a more recent and larger study conducted at McGill University suggests that open-mouthed kissing actually does increase the risk of oral HPV being transmitted from one partner to the other…

11/12/2014 1

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Can HPV be Caught by Kissing Someone with HPV Throat Cancer?

HPV transmitted by oral sex is the leading cause of oral and throat cancer now surpassing throat cancer due to tobacco products and alcohol. And for spouses/partners of patients diagnosed with HPV throat cancer, the main concern is whether it is "contagious". After all, if HPV is transmittable by oral sex , than it would seem that kissing can also transfer HPV to the partner as well. Well, a small Johns Hopkins study suggests that intimately kissing someone who has HPV orop…

6/02/2013 0

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