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Ghanaian Nuns Test Positive for HPV in Cervical Cancer Screening

• By Rich Health News Desk
• September 06, 2024

According to a recent Ghanaian cervical cancer screening program, 23.8% of nuns have high-risk HPV (human papillomavirus), which is the main cause of cervical cancer.

 

The research was carried out as a component of mPharma's "10,000 Women Initiative," which offered free HPV testing to women in Ghana and Nigeria in an effort to counteract the rising number of cervical cancer cases.

 

Of the 105 nuns who took part in the screening, 25 tested positive for high-risk HPV, according to the results released by Gavi.

 

Dispelling Misconceptions

Few people would assume that nuns would be at danger for cervical cancer. Indeed, in several countries, nuns and other religious groups are not examined for the human papillomavirus (HPV) due to a common misconception that the virus only spreads through sexual contact.

 

The program gave nuns in convents in Ghana's Central, Volta, and Greater Accra regions self-collection kits. Pap smears and colposcopies were among the additional diagnostic tests that were made available to those who tested positive for HPV; two of these people had alterations that were clinically significant. Subsequent examinations revealed these people were in good health.

 

“Our main aim was to offer cervical cancer prevention services to a group that might have been ignored,” said the researchers.

 

Head of the Cervical Cancer Prevention and Training Center at the Catholic Hospital in Battor, Ghana, Dr. Kofi Effah, stated that this finding contradicts the conventional wisdom that nuns had a decreased risk of contracting HPV. 

 

“The use of bulb syringes (bentua) is common in Ghana and in many families the bulb syringes are shared by family members, including children,” Effah stated.

 

Studies have indicated that non-sexual methods can be used to spread HPV, and nuns, like other religious women, may encounter obstacles when trying to get screened for cervical cancer. Dr. Effah emphasized that a lot of people in the medical field are ignorant of this and frequently tell nuns that they are not at risk of infection, which stigmatizes them.

 

Things To Be Aware About

Despite being frequently linked to sexual transmission, HPV can also spread non-sexually. In rare instances, it can pass from mother to kid during childbirth, especially if the mother has warts on her genitalia.

 

Traditional methods of transmission, like the sharing or usage of bulb syringes (bentua) for enemas, may also be to blame. These syringes are frequently shared among family members, including children, in many West African homes, which could transmit the infection.

 

Prof. Alan Nyitray of the Medical College of Wisconsin reports that HPV has been found on common surfaces such as toilet seats, medical tools, and even people's fingertips. Although a man's penis is usually thought to be the primary means of HPV transmission, non-penetrative activities such as hand-to-genital contact could also spread the virus, highlighting the possibility of non-sexual transmission in certain situations. This implies that, while it hasn't been confirmed beyond a reasonable doubt, the virus may spread through casual contact.

 

Comprehending these varied routes of transmission will promote comprehensive HPV screening and prevention initiatives including all demographic groups.