European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 13, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                V j a the human papilloma virus a As seen through an Electron Microscope a is the suspected cause of cervical  a a silent virus epidemic file Pap tests Are a must for Young women having a first Pap Tes is an important rite of passage. The annual or biennial test should become a routine part of a woman a health care to detect cervical or Uteri cancer. But it is becoming increasingly apparel just How important the Pap test is. In the past decade researchers have discovered that Many women with abnormal Pap tests have been exposed to human papilloma viruses. They Are the viruses implicated As the cause of the majority of Case of cervical cancer. The Pap test is the primary tool for detecting the disease. The Pap test or smear is named after . Anatomist George n. Papanicolaou 1883-1962. He discovered that malignant uterine tutors Slough off cancerous cells into surrounding vaginal fluid. The test can reveal uterine or cervical cancer at a stage in which it produces no visible symptoms has done no damage and usually can be completely cure according to the encyclopedia and dictionary of Medicine nursing and Allied health. Pap tests Are credited for halving the death rate fro cervical cancer in industrialized countries where women Are regularly screened. The test is inexpensive painless and Quick. Cervical cancer if detected in its earliest stages almost 100 percent curable the american cancer society says. A a Pap test is performed by a physician or other health care professional who scrapes cells from a woman s cervix. The cells Are then examined in a Laboratory for abnormal changes known As dysplasia a High failure rate of Pap tests has come under criticism in recent years in the United states. The tests can be difficult to perform without making some by Janet d Agostino and Libby Grimm staff writers i Don t give a Damn about aids. But i do care about cervical cancer Quot Germaine Greer has repeatedly told the Media in recent years. What the controversial feminist is saying is that there s a need for More research on and Public awareness of cervical cancer which like aids is linked to a virus human papilloma viruses a a pcs a Are increasingly implicated As the cause of cervical cancer and genital warts. The viruses Are believed widespread among men and women but often produce no symptoms Huv is Little known by the general Public. As Many As 60 types of human papilloma viruses have been identified. But Only a few types Are believed responsible for cervical cancer or for genital warts. However genital warts generally do not Lead to cervical cancer says prof. Harald Zur Hausen a researcher at the cancer research Center in Heidelberg West Germany. Huv can remain in the body indefinitely before causing warts or cancer if it Ever does. Quot it s a silent epidemic Quot says or. Capt Paula Underwood who counsels people infected with Huv at the . Army Hospital in a Danburg West Germany. Ninety nine percent of the people she counsels Quot Don t have a clue about what the viruses Are Quot says Underwood who is Deputy for preventive Medicine services. Human papilloma viruses Are believed to be spread primarily through sexual Contact. But there is evidence that Huv May also be passed from Mother to infant during birth and transmitted from improperly sterilized gynaecological instruments Zur Hausen says. Human papilloma viruses Are not new and have probably been in existence since Early Days of Mankind says Zur Hausen who began studying Huv in 1972 and was one of the first to do such research. In recent years interest and research has increased dramatically. Quot up to 36 percent of All sexually Active women in West Germany Are infected Quot Zur Hausen adds. But data and research on Huv Don t go Back far enough to accurately determine the number of people infected Underwood says. Huv accounts for the vast majority of abnormal Pap a i item Mehmi a amps Dave Didio Harald Zur Hausen says research into Huv has increased greatly during recent years. Smears according to the american College of obstetricians and gynaecologists. Whether the virus becomes Active depends in part on the strength of the person s immune system says or. It. Col Manuel de los Santos chief of obstetrics and gynaecology at Frankfurt army regional medical Center and obstetrical and gynaecological consultant for the . Army s 7th medical come. Women infected with Huv suffer More seriously than infected men because the viruses thrive in the moist environment of a woman a reproductive tract and because they face the threat of cervical cancer according to de los Santos. The transmission of Huv May be prevented by using such Barrier methods of contraception As condoms and diaphragms and by having a monogamous relationship Underwood says. However Barrier methods Are not foolproof in preventing the spread of the virus if either partner is infected in areas of the genitals not covered by the condom she explains. Genital wart infections in the United states have increased in the past 10 years at twice the rate of genital herpes according to the Merck manual a we known medical reference. The warts Are usually caused by Huv types 6 and explains or. Kerti Shah professor of immunology and infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins school of Publ health in Baltimore my. In females genital warts Are Flat flesh coloured growths in the Vagina or cervix that May not be visit to the naked Eye. In men they May appear on the i or scrotum. They usually produce no symptoms and painless. Treatment of the warts includes freezing them wit liquid nitrogen burning them with chemicals or removing them with lasers or electrocautery heat. Treatment May need to be performed More than one the human papilloma viruses usually found As factors in the development of cervical cancer Are syn 16 or 18. These types can cause genital warts bul is very uncommon according to Shah. Cervical cancer a one of the most curable of Al cancers a grows slowly and the cervix goes throne number of precancerous stages before showing definite signs of malignancy. Women with abnormal Pap tests Are watched closely and treated More aggressively now than i past because if Huv is present it May cause a no cervical cells to develop More quickly into cancer los Santos says. Studies indicate that about 90 percent of to with abnormal development of cervical cells hav infection the american College of obstetricians gynaecologists reports. Nth a Pap test can detect abnormal cervical Cei s can also determine the presence of Huv but i within the last 10 years that scientists realize Between the virus and cervical cancer de los says in a a new test called Virapa approved by 1 is year can detect seven different human pap1 cd viruses Shah says. The test can detect the p the viruses but can t identify which Type the p infected with. The test is not available in i i v hospitals overseas. Is however the value of the test for clinical t questionable. N a a Chuck a Quot it contributing to his report stall writers Bill Bart a Washington Page 16 a a a the stars and stripes tuesday March 13,1990