Difference Between HIV and HPV
Our president doesn’t seem to know the difference between HPV and sexually transmitted HIV , but I’m not here to judge. As you probably remember from the sex education lessons, if you think you have a stupid question, you should still ask it, because you are probably not the only one.
- HIV , the Human Immunodeficiency Virus , is known as the virus that causes AIDS. It is sexually transmitted and can harm your immune system, although there are medications that can keep the virus under control. HIV affects millions of people around the world, including 4 percent of Africans . (Bill Gates, who explained the difference between these viruses to our president, runs a foundation that diagnoses, prevents, and treats HIV in sub-Saharan Africa .) According to the CDC, 1.1 million Americans are infected with HIV, but one in seven are not . I don’t know . Fortunately, HIV testing is covered free of charge by ACA-eligible insurance plans.
- HPV is a human papillomavirus best known for causing cervical cancer. If you have a cervix and have a Pap test every couple of years, your gynecologist looks for signs of infection with this virus. HPV can also be sexually transmitted and is so common that most of us contract it at some point (usually without even knowing it). Since it sometimes causes cancer, it makes sense to give everyone the vaccine before they become sexually active. The vaccine is recommended for children of all genders, as well as for young people.
Both diseases are worth knowing, and both can be devastating if left untreated. But these are very, very different things.
Update 2018-05-18 at 13:04: In one of the above cases, we have incorrectly listed HIV as HPV. Ltd. This has now been fixed.