The latest in women’s health research may be discouraging, but it’s also important. It seems that dormant HPV infections can actually reawaken during menopause. The research comes via Indiana’s University School of Medicine, and it involved 850 participants between the ages of 35 and 60.
Why Would a Dormant Virus Reactivate?
As people age, the immune system operates less effectively. Researchers believe this is the primary reason why an HPV infection that lay dormant for decades would reawaken in women 50 and older. They draw parallels to chicken pox, which has shown similar behaviors. Some who experienced childhood chicken pox develop shingles – an aggressive form of the virus – in their later years.
Further complicating the issue is the fact that many of these women may not be aware that they are carrying the virus at all. Since HPV is only seen during routine exams if it happens to be flaring when the exam is performed, and since the virus often has no symptoms in most patients, there are thousands of people with HPV who don’t know and may never know that they contracted it.
However, while the findings in this research may be distressing, the discovery is actually a good thing for women’s health. HPV screenings have traditionally stopped or at least been performed less frequently after a woman hits menopause. Women who have previously been diagnosed with HPV also tend to think it’s a nonissue after a number of years of dormancy.
Now, the OB/GYN field can use this new information to re-evaluate how we approach STD testing in menopausal and post-menopausal women. Abnormal, pre-cancerous cells can be found and removed before they develop into full-blown cancer.
If you are a sexually active woman of any age, regular HPV screenings are an important part of your well woman care. For women who aren’t yet sexually active, the HPV vaccine Gardasil is highly recommended. Again, HPV is incredibly prevalent among both genders, and most who have it don’t know that they do. Even the safest sex can still result in HPV transmission.
