Are you worried of contracting HPV? Detecting the virus may be as simple, as easy, and as cheap as a urine test.
Urinalysis is a process that has been used by health care professionals to diagnose a variety of health issues including infections. A new meta-analysis report, however, suggest that it's possible that the same test be used to confirm the presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV).
The report, which can now be read in BMJ, cites more than 10 different studies that talks about the possible use of urine test in HPV detection. Based on the data found on the article, such test has an overall sensitivity rate of 87% and an accuracy of over 90% in detecting negative presence.
Meanwhile, when compared with pap smear, which is the current standard routine of screening for HPV, the urine test posted 73% in overall sensitivity in detecting strains 16 and 18, which are considered high risk and the cause of over 65% of cervical cancers. When confirming negative results, the urine test versus pap smear reported an almost 100%.
Although the researchers are aware that the report isn't enough to firmly conclude that the urine test can be used as a diagnostic exam for determining HPV, they believe that given further study, the results may indicate that the urine test is a viable option for women who don't want to undergo other cervical cancer screening tests including pap smear. The process may also be beneficial for countries whose women need cheaper and simpler methods for testing.
HPV is composed of more than 50 different kinds of strains, and not all of them can cause cervical cancer or sexually transmitted disease. Nevertheless, HPV infection is very common in the United States wherein as many as 20 million men and women can acquire it at least once in their lives. Those at risk of getting HPV are sexually active individuals who begin at an early age like 15 years old. Men and women who are engaged in having multiple sex partners also have a higher chance of being infected.
