"HPV positivity rates were higher in those study participants who were also living with HIV (68.5%) compared to those without HIV (48%)," said Dr Prapti Gilada, who is also an independent Director of Thyrocare. Global data shows that among men who have sex with men, HPV is higher among those who are living with HIV than those without it.
She was speaking with CNS before 2nd Asia Pacific Conference on Point-of-Care Diagnostics for Infectious Diseases (POC 2025) and 13th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2025) open.
Dr Prapti Gilada calls for raising awareness, health and treatment literacy among the masses so that eligible boys and men and girls and women can access HPV vaccination, HPV screening and management of pre-cancerous lesions and other health issues. She also hopes governments will make HPV vaccination available to all those eligible of all genders, as well as screening and appropriate management.
Dr Prapti Gilada cites a study published in The Lancet in 2023 which showed that almost 1 in 3 men over the age of 15 were infected with at least one genital HPV genotype, and 1 in 5 men were infected with one or more of high risk (or oncogenic) HPV genotypes.
It is high time all eligible boys and men too are included in HPV responses globally
Agrees Vijay Nair who is the Chairperson of Udaan Trust and a prominent community rights activist from India: "With no HPV vaccination and screening facilities for males, there are people who have even probably died with undiagnosed HPV-related anal cancers or other health issues. Some may be getting services for piles or anal fissures or fistula as there is hardly any HPV screening facilities for anal HPV. We need to screen high-risk men for HPV and HPV related health conditions including pre-cancerous lesions or anal cancers. Also, we need to include males too for vaccination against HPV."
Vijay was speaking at the India's National Dialogue and Stakeholder Consultation held last month in preventing cancers and addressing ageing among people living with HIV. It was organised by National Coalition of People Living with HIV in India (NCPI Plus).
Colposcopy and anoscopy: Do we have enough facilities?
Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
