FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – There’s a growing concern in the medical community about the spread of a sexually transmitted disease.
Dr. Nonglin Mel with the Broward Health Comprehensive Care Center said there’s been an uptick in cases of anal HPV infections from the Human Papillomavirus which is known to cause cancer.
”You can definitely consider HPV as a sexually transmitted disease but it’s also transmitted by intimate skin-to-skin contact so whether it’s oral sex, anal sex or vaginal sex, or even just prolonged skin-to-skin contact, it’s transmissible that way,” said Mel. “A lot of times people don’t like to talk about anal sex, it’s a little bit taboo, but it’s a very common way to transmit STDs including HPV,” he said.
Mel said practicing safe sex, which means using physical barriers like condoms and getting the vaccine for HPV, are the only true forms of protection from the potential cancer-causing virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HPV can cause cervical and other cancers, including cancer of the vulva, vagina, penis, or anus. It can also cause cancer in the back of the throat (called oropharyngeal cancer). This can include the base of the tongue and tonsils.
Cancer often takes years, even decades, to develop after a person gets HPV. Genital warts and cancers result from different types of HPV.
There is no way to know who will develop cancer or other health problems from HPV, according to the CDC.
Get on the Bus!
And the Alzheimer’s Association’s “Brain Bus” is getting back on the road, making its way to Little Havana Wednesday, June 22, 2022, as part of a bilingual community forum.
”More than 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s. Here in Florida we have an estimated 580,000 residents and communities like Little Havana are especially hard hit because of barriers to resources and also a cultural stigma about the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s,” said Gloria Orlandi Kass, Program Manager for the Southeast Florida Alzheimer’s Association.
The Brain Bus is unique to Florida. It travels the state to provide dementia education and resources to underserved communities.
The event will get underway Wednesday, June 22 at 9 a.m. at the WellMed Charitable Foundation Little Havana Senior Center at 2974 SW 8th Street, Miami, Fla.