bobby777

Hi, I have a couple of questions I can't seem to find convincing answers to.

Firstly, concerning cervical cancer: is the ONLY way of developing cervical cancer through infection with the HPV virus? On Wi ki theres a statistical graph on HPV induced cancers, saying:
'NEARLY all cases of cervical cancer and a substantial majority of anal cancers are believed to be the caused by HPV.'
The word NEARLY implies that people are still susceptible to developing the cancer even if they are not and have never been infected with HPV. So what other cause is there for getting cervical cancer?


Secondly, how does one get HPV? Is sexual contact the ONLY way to get HPV? That is, if you are a virgin, does that imply you CANNOT have HPV?

Thirdly, GARDASIL is recommended for young girls (and is not recommended to older women above 25-26 years). But I've also read that this is because the efficacy of the vaccine is reduced if a person has already contracted a strain of the virus at some point. Is there an assumption being made here that older women necessarily have an active sexual life and therefore have contracted HPV at some point? Or is the efficacy GARDASIL really related to AGE? I mean, you can be 26 and still be a virgin, and never had any strain of HPV. SO would GARDASIL be as effective for you as it is for a 12 year old in preventing the virus?

If any one can help, I'd appreciate it, I just can't seem to come clear on these points.

Thank you