THE TIMES, APRIL 20, 2017, 2016 PAGE 10
HPV Sexually transmitted
infections are widespred
By PROF. RANDOLPH HOW-ES M.D., PhD
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Longtime medical columnist for The Times, the
author is an accomplished surgeon, medical inventor, and Country music
recording artist. Dr. Howes grew up on his parents' Ponchatoula straw-
berry farm. He is a graduate of St. Joseph, Ponchatoula High School,
Southeastern, Tulane - two doctorates, followed by a residency at the
Johns Hopkins Hospital in plastic surgery. He says he is "retired" now in
Kentwood. The doctor's column appears on facebook.com]theponchatou-
latimes and on facebook.com/theindependencetimes. It is also available
online at ponchatoula.com/ptimes)
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), human
papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmit-
ted infection (STI) in the United States.
HPV is a different virus
than herpes. HPV is so com-
mon that most sexually active
men and women get it at some
point in their lives. Anyone
who is sexually active can get
HPV, even if you have had sex
with only one person.
You also can develop symp-
toms years after you have sex
with someone who is infected,
making it hard to know when
you first became infected.
There are many different
types of HPV and some types
can cause health problems
including genital warts and
cancers. But, there are vac-
cines that can reportedly stop
these health problems from
happening.
Health officials are now
saying about 45% of Ameri-
cans ages 18 to 59 had some
form of genital human papil-
lomavirus. More concerning,
about 25% of men and 20%
of women had certain strains
that carry a higher risk of
cancer. There are more than
150 HPV viruses.
Most important, the types
of HPV that can cause genital
warts are not the same as the
types of HPV that can cause
cancers. Genital warts usu-
ally appear as a small bump
or group of bumps in the geni-
tal area. They can be small or
large, raised or flat, or shaped
like a cauliflower.
HPV can cause cervical and
other cancers, cancers includ-
ing cancer of the vulva, vagi-
na, penis, or anus. It can also
cause cancer in the back of the
throat, including the base of
the tongue and tonsils (called
• oropharyngeal cancer).
• Cancer often takes years,
[]
even decades, to develop after
a person gets HPV. There is
no way to know which people
who have HPV will develop
cancer or other health prob-
lems. Fortunately, many cases
Dr. Howes
of HPV go away on their own.
Actually, up to 90% of HPV
infections resolve spontane-
ously within two years.
Even though cervical can-
cer is cited as the second most
common cancer in women
worldwide, existing data show
that this only applies to de-
veloping countries. In indus-
trialized nations, where Pap
screening is common, there
has been a 70% reduction in
the incidence of cervical can-
cer during the past 50 years.
Government officials are
now recommending getting
vaccinated with an HPV vac-
cine, which they claim is safe
and effective. CDC recom-
mends 11 to 12 year olds get
two doses of HPV vaccine
to protect against cancers
caused by HPV. To the con-
trary, skepticism about the
vaccine has been increasing
for several reasons, despite
reassurances from the public-
health sector.
In the America that I love,
please remember to always
practice safe sex. Use condoms
and try to be in.a monoga-
mous relationship. Check
with your doctor about HPV
vaccinations.
Now THREE Locations to serve you
Owners- Gary & Paige Brown
claw its way back to legal
standing for the schools:
"Unitary status includes
a commitment to continue
building and maintaining
facilities in a manner that
promotes continuing deseg-
regation.
"Plaintiffs have brought
to the attention of the court
that school board leaders
and the board president and
superintendent have pub-
licly sabotaged public opin-
ion against compliance with
R. Doc. 876. "Tangipahoa
Parish has one of the low-
est, if not the lowest, rate of
tax contributions to public
schools in the State of Loui-
siana.
' rhe school board presi-
tOM PAGE ONE
dent and superintendent
make public their hostility
toward desegregation orders
concerning facilities. Their
public comments give sup-
port for the idea that the
community may reject tax-
es, hold out, get unitary sta-
tus, and then build schools
and facilities wherever they
wish, without regard for de-
segregation.
"To allow this continuing
hostility to compliance with
the Fourteenth Amendment
would be tragic," reads the
motion to be ruled on by
Federal Judge Ivan Lemelle
on a court date not yet set.
President Whitlow told
The Times the school board
has made necessary changes
in several key areas and is
now seeking court recogni-
tion of its accomplishments.
The courts have already
approved the school's Trans-
portation and Extracurricu-
lar plans, and in the areas
of Staff and Facilities, Whit-
low says the board has been
in compliance with the law
for three years now and now
seeks recognition of that.
In the dicey area of im-
proving the racial ratio of
minority teachers, Whitlow
told The Times a recruiting
drive continues to seek new
minority hires, but speaks of
the increasing difficulty of
luring graduates from pre.
dominantly Black colleges:
"There has been a drop-
off of teachers being trained.
Being a teacher is a calling,
like to a ministry."
On a more positive note,
the courts were insisting
the local school board re-
distribute 8,000 school-
children in the system and
to-date, 11,000 have been
reassigned, many of them
attracted to one of the new
magnet schools.
Working together
of Ponchatoula has part-
nered with other agencies.
To further illustrate:
Each hurricane season
since Katrina, Ponchatou-
la Fire Chief Rodney
Drude and Mayor Bob
Zabbia sign intergovern-
mental agreements with
St. Bernard Parish offi-
cials that should the lower
parish need to evacuate,
officials can bring their
equipment, offices and
important records here.
(And they have, housed
at the Fire Department.)
If needed, they will pro-
vide additional help to our
community.
Another help is having
Parish President Robbie
Miller, Mayor Zabbia and
neighboring leaders hold
positions on the Regional
Planning Commission
which meets monthly in
New Orleans, allowing
area officials to know the
latest in works and fund-
ing available.
Through this commis-
sion, the parishes of Jef-
ferson, Orleans, Plaque-
mines, St. Bernard, St.
John, St. Tammany and
Tangipahoa get certain al-
lotted funds each year for
projects such as transpor-
tation which include items
such as feasibility studies
and reports for sidewalks.
Just recently, the Bar-
ringer Road Sidewalk Proj-
ect has been included in
the Tangipahoa Improve-
ment Program (TIP). Also,
this commission has aided
the city in hastening the
widening of Highway 51, a
project which has been an-
ticipated for 12 years.
At the parish level, bids
for road improvements and
overlay require such a vol-
ume of work and expense
that the city can "piggy-
back" onto the parish to
obtain high quality work
at a lower price through
a co-operative agreement,
allowing the city to stretch
its dollar rather than bid
out on its own. Thus, when
FROM PAGE ONE
a parish road and a city
street meet, the work con-
tinues all at one time.
Another example is the
way the parish Council on
Aging and the city have
worked together to provide
daily bus transportation,
allowing more Ponchatou-
la citizens to get employ-
ment, shop, and get to
medical appointments.
Ponchatoula city gov-
ernment and parish gov-
ernment continue to work
hand-in-hand in mutual
agreement resulting in
major accomplishments
for both.
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Times Internet Edition -- www.ponchatoula.com/ptimes E-Maih editor@ponchatoula.com or timesofindependence@gmail.com
