Vaccines given to prevent STD's

[lovebeingamomma]

I'm researching each vaccine on the schedule on my own but I'll ask this anyways in case I miss something- which of the vaccines given are ones for STD's, the ones that they could only contract from a mother who has the STD or from having sex with someone who has it, or using a dirty needle etc.  Thanks. 

[carriebft]

Both HPV and Hep B are spreadable by sexual contact. However, they are also spread in other ways. Hep B, for example, can be spread by saliva (sharing of toothbrushes, spit in the eye, bites, etc have all lead to infection) and there is a lot of horizontal transmission, esp in families. There have been lots of cases of transmission among sports teams sharing equipment- it seems to be more of an issue with middle/high than elemtary schools. It is also not equal in all countries. I have found many cases in Japan and very few in Britain, for example. There is also the needle and blood transfusion transmission, which vary in degrees of risk depending on country and group and all that.

HPV is more secluded into the sexual intercourse realm. I believe most of the other possible transmission routes (such as contact with infected surfaces) remain theoretical, but I cannot comment 100% on that.

[lovebeingamomma]

I don't see HPV on the schedule that has a vaccine...am I missing something?  And thanks for the info. 

[carriebft]

its on the schedule for later in life. 12 maybe? I forget when the recommendation kicks in.

[soso-lynn]

Can you provide some sources for that? It is my understanding that, while the virus can be found in saliva, transmission has only ever been documented through bites.
 

Originally Posted by carriebft 

Both HPV and Hep B are spreadable by sexual contact. However, they are also spread in other ways. Hep B, for example, can be spread by saliva (sharing of toothbrushes, spit in the eye, bites, etc have all lead to infection) and there is a lot of horizontal transmission, esp in families. There have been lots of cases of transmission among sports teams sharing equipment- it seems to be more of an issue with middle/high than elemtary schools. It is also not equal in all countries. I have found many cases in Japan and very few in Britain, for example. There is also the needle and blood transfusion transmission, which vary in degrees of risk depending on country and group and all that.

HPV is more secluded into the sexual intercourse realm. I believe most of the other possible transmission routes (such as contact with infected surfaces) remain theoretical, but I cannot comment 100% on that.

[carriebft]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8170432

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/116/2/199.abstract

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1980.tb18918.x/abstract (discusses various studies and experiments involving the use of saliva to infect others)

http://journals.lww.com/amjmedsci/Abstract/1975/09000/Intrafamilial_spread_of_asymptomatic_hepatitis_B.9.aspx (need full access here, discussion of item sharing among siblings- toothbrushes spoken of here)

http://jech.bmj.com/content/39/2/123.abstract  (again sharing amongst siblings shows the highest rate of infection- toothbrushes, razors, bedding, etc)

I also have studies on salivia and other secretions in general. Also, I found an excellent article on transmission in school cases through sharing of equipment and the like. I will repost in a second.

Edited by carriebft - 1/2/11 at 3:28pm

[carriebft]

Well, i can't figure out how to get this new search feature narrowed and don't want to go through 5,000 posts with my criteria LOL. here are some saliva studies I pulled up quick:

http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJM197412262912602

http://epirev.oxfordjournals.org/content/28/1/112.abstract

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5516a1.htm

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2893.2003.00487.x/full

[carriebft]

ok that's all I got for now. We know that up to 30% of those who contract Hep B have no risk factors for the disease, couple this with the high transmission rates amongst family members (not sexual contact as is between husband and wife) and the few cases of spit and bite transmission that we have documented...well...I think that adds up pretty clearly. We might not be able to pinpoint a specific case where a child shared a toothbrush and then got it just from that, but we see that their risk increases hugely when that sharing occurs with family members in an infected household.

ETA: and, of course, blood could play a role in the increased risk found with toothbrush sharing. But I think its important to note, whether or not its saliva, blood or both contributing, that household contacts can pass this disease through actions like this. And, as I have talked about here recently, we had a case of this kind of transmission in our extended family- familial/ living situation contact. there is no remembrance of blood sharing or toothbrush sharing or bites, but the transmission occurred...so we know somewhere along the way, blood or body fluids were passed. What we do know 110% is that it was not sexual or needle contact that created the infection.

Edited by carriebft - 1/2/11 at 3:45pm

[soso-lynn]

Thank you very much Carrie, I will read through that.

[lovebeingamomma]

thanks! 

[Mama Metis]

In terms of HPV, I just wanted to mention that while it is a sexually transmitted infection, 25-30% of women test positive for it at any given point in time. I get that some people feel their children will wait until marriage or always practice safe sex. But even if a girl only has one or two partners in her entire lifetime, she still stands a good chance of being exposed to HPV at some point. Not all strands cause cervical cancer of course, but cervical cancer is almost always caused by HPV.  I have (at least) 12 years and 6 months to decide for sure, but I think I'd like my daughters to consider the HPV vax.