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September 19, 2007 - Image 16

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 2007-09-19

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

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M w Th icianDil edesa, etebr 007

WenedaSete be 9,00 Te6O cianDal
CONT'D: The most common viral diseases at the University
and what they can do to you

My, ow they'v
changed!.
The Statement looks through the old yearbook
pictures of some of the University's most famous alumni

VIRUSES
From page 8B
HPV
The human papillomavirus is
so astoundingly common that the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention estimates that more
than 80 percent of adults will have
been exposed to itby age 50.
"So many people are exposed to
it and have been infected, yet many
people never even know it," said
Susan Ernst, Chief of UHS Gyne-
cology Services.
A stealthy traveler, the HPV is
transmitted sexually through skin-
to-skin contact, so condom use,
which is effective against viruses
that are transferred by fluid, is far
less effective at stopping HPV than
it is at stoppingbabies.
In addition to causing genital
warts, the virus has the ability to
transform cells, sometimes result-
ing in cervical, penile and anal can-
cer.
Because you don't necessarily
have to have sex with someone to
get HPV and because it can't be
reliably tested for in men, Dr. Ernst
said it's almost impossible to figure
out who the culprit is if you're look-
ing for someone to blame.
In a study conducted in New
Jersey a few years ago, a group of
researchers tracked college women
throughout their campus experi-
ence. Twenty percent of the women
tested positive at first, and over the
next three to four years, 40 percent
of the initially HPV-free women
became infected.
This study lends credence to
the prediction that 60 percent of
sexually active college-age women
will contract HPV in their college
careers.
Fortunately, though, the body's
immune system can often rid itself
of HPV much like it would do when
exposed to a common cold virus.
In that same college study, 91
percent of the participants who ini-
tially tested positive for HPV at the
start of the study tested negative
again within two years.
"It's only those 9 percent of stu-
dents who are persistently at risk
for the more severe complications,"
Ernst said.
There are nocuresortreatments,
although in the past year a preven-
tative vaccine called Gardasil has
hit the market.
HERPESVIRUSES
Epstein-Barr virus: Mononucleo-
sis is the term used to describe the
illness caused by the Epstein-Barr
virus, another member of the her-

pesvirus family like chicken pox. It VIRI
is markedbysymptoms of excessive The n
tiredness, fever and sore throat and Te
is commonly referred to as mono or totaln
the kissing disease.
It was a big deal back in middle 1000
school when rumor had it that if
you were out of school with mono
it was because you had been kissing
someone. So taboo. And although it
all seems silly now that it appears
to have gone away, once contracted, 800
Epstein-Bar Virus remains entan-
gled in genetic material forever.
Symptoms caused by the
Epstein-Barr virus may not be as
dramatic as a full-blown case of
mono, but it has been linked to 600
chronic fatigue syndrome. What's
worse, even if you never actually
got mono in grade school, it's still
likely you contracted the Epstein-
Barr virus. According to the Center
for Disease control's statistics, it's
present in 93 percent of adults, and 400
it's hard to avoid because it's trans-
mitted through saliva.
Cytomegalovirus: Another com-
mon herpesvirus is the cytomega-
lovirus. Carriers -50to 80 percent 200
of the population, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention - can blame mom for
this one. The virus may cause com-
plications at birth like jaundice or 0
more permanent disabilities, but
usually it doesn't cause any symp-
toms later in life.
The catch is, if your immune
system becomes compromised, it
could come back in full force. KEY:
"You don't have any problems
with it - until you have to get that
new liver transplant," said Dr. San-
dro Cinti, an assistant professor
in the University's Department of
Internal Medicine who specializes
in infectious disease.
The herpesviruses are opportu-
nistic, and when the body's natu- poss
ral defenses are down, they come areas
out of their hiding spots deep in "D
your cells and can cause all kinds
of problems, like shingles and
lymphoma cancer, to name just
a few.
Hopefully, though, by the time 1
we're old and our bodies start to C]
give out, there will be measures
to keep our internal viruses under a
wraps. Currently there are preven-
tative vaccines for both chicken
pox and shingles.
Herpes: You can think of herpes
simplex I and II viruses as the be v'
black sheep of the herpesvirus said.
family. The others probably won't mant
really bother you under normal nerv
circumstances, but the simplex infec
ones are different, appearing fatig
in frequently recurrent lesions, burn

USES AT THE UNIVERSITY
umber of people on campus who tested positive at University Health Services for various viruses over the years. The
number of people on campus infected is likely much higher, because not everyone goes to UHS.
1000 955
923
882

471
384
- 356

202

209

198
82

196
70

64

46

i

'03-'04

'04-05

'05-'06

'06-'07

Abnormal pap smears
Genital herpes

EBV occurrences
Other kinds of Simplex herpes

SOURCE: UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN HEALTH SERVICE

ibly on especially sensitive
Ls.
During the first infection, it can
Mono and
hieken pox are
Ctually types of
herpes.
ery severe, painful," Winfield
"The virus then goes dor-
t, incorporates itself into the
e cells where you had the first
tion and is triggered later by
ue, stress, sunburn or wind-

Ernst said that though the first
outbreak is often very dramatic,.
two-thirds of people infected don't
know that they are.
From the statistics provided by
UHS, the herpes simplex viruses
do not appear to be too prevalent
at the University. Almost twice as
many people were diagnosed with
shingles at UHS last year than with
genital herpes.
Although there are anti-viral
drugs to treat and suppress out-
breaks, there is no cure, Cinti said.
"As they say, herpes are forever,"
he said.
HIV
It's a doctor's nightmare
because it mutates at such a high
rate, making it impossible to cure
and difficult to treat. HIV, awell-
known disease that essentially

destroys the immune system, is
relatively rare, though it doe.
exist outside Africa and certainly
isn't confined to the gay commu-
nity as is the common mispercep-
tion. There are even some cases at
the University.
Fortunately, it doesn't really fit
in the category of viruses that you
probably have. According to Dr.
Winfield, UHS provides free HIV
testing, but they only diagnose one
or two people a year. He said thae
of those unfortunate few, they're
almost all faculty members, not
students.
But Dr. Winfield said the scar-
city of HIV cases may have to do
more with students going to other
clinics for HIV testing and coun-
seling for fear of being "outed"
somehow, although UHS practices
strict privacy consideration.

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