w w w W - V -m _IF 'W w w w 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.