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Norklander t1_j9biiaf wrote

Reply to comment by sommerniks in Can doctors tell when cancer is caused by something specific, such as smoking or chemicals? by [deleted]

Skin to skin contact, including oral sex can transfer HPV virus. In some cultures/counties the definition of a virgin means no vaginal/penile penetrative sex, therefore it’s important in the context of cervical cancer not to equate absence of the above with zero risk of cervical cancer.

For example in Turkey when the Erdogan government rolled out HPV primary testing for cervical cancer screening (in 2014) the message got hijacked by right wing religious parties saying the infection was only sexually transmitted (mainly in the SE Turkey region), and that an HPV positive result meant the person had an STI. Result was uptake was low and cervical pre-cancers were missed as women were scared and men scared of being stigmatised or accused as a result.

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sommerniks t1_j9bklup wrote

Yeah, I know and the strict Christians refused vaccination based on the virgin principle too.

But still the doctors I know would want some explanation about that virginity, and consider oral sex 'sexually active' for example.

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Norklander t1_j9blrk1 wrote

Yes it’s a tricky subject but the consensus among clinicians and epidemiologists is that HPV is not an STI and shouldn’t be treated as such, but it doesn’t stop people deliberately confusing it for their own ends which is unfortunate.

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