HPV and Natural Alternatives to the HPV Vaccine

by Neil Z. Miller 

(NaturalNews) Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is a relatively common sexually transmitted disease passed on through genital contact, usually by sexual intercourse. Some forms of the virus can cause vaginal warts (papillomas). Other forms of the virus can cause abnormal cell growth on the lining of the cervix that years later can turn into cancer. However, the infections are usually harmless and go away without treatment. The body's own defense system eliminates the virus. Often, women experience no signs, symptoms or health problems.

The median age of women when they are initially diagnosed with cervical cancer is 48 years. New cervical cancer cases and deaths are uncommon below the age of 35 and nearly nonexistent before the age of 20.

Cervical cancer is not as common as other types of cancer. Rates for skin cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer and breast cancer are much higher. In fact, women are nearly 15 times more likely to be stricken with breast cancer than with cervical cancer.

In the United States, an HPV vaccine -- Gardasil -- was licensed in 2006. It is designed to protect against just four of the more than 100 different HPV strains. Each dose contains polysorbate 80 and 225mcg of aluminum. In Europe, Cervarix is the licensed HPV vaccine. It is made by gene-cloning cells of Trichoplusia ni, a worm-like insect. This vaccine contains 500mcg of aluminum.

By February 2011, more than 20,500 adverse reaction reports pertaining to Gardasil were filed with the U.S. government -- an average of 12 reports per day [VAERS]. Nearly half of all reports required a doctor or emergency room visit, with hundreds of teenage girls and young women needing extended hospitalization.

In the case reports submitted to the FDA, 89 deaths were described due to blood clots, heart disease and other causes. In addition, many of the vaccine recipients -- young women -- were stricken with serious and life-threatening disabilities, including Guillain-Barre syndrome (paralysis), seizures, convulsions, swollen limbs, chest pain, heart irregularities, kidney failure, visual disturbances, arthritis, difficulty breathing, severe rashes, persistent vomiting, miscarriages, menstrual irregularities, reproductive complications, genital warts, vaginal lesions and HPV infection" the main reason to vaccinate.

According to Dr. Diane Harper, director of the Gynecologic Cancer Prevention Research Group at the University of Missouri, "The rate of serious adverse events [from Gardasil] is greater than the incidence rate of cervical cancer." [ABC News (August 19, 2009).]

Gardasil is being promoted as 100 percent effective. However, this is a deceptive assessment of its true ability to protect against cervical cancer. Gardasil is effective against just two strains of cancer-causing HPV -- the ones included in the vaccine -- but researchers have identified at least 15 cancer-causing HPV strains!

Gardasil will not prevent infection with HPV types not contained in the vaccine. In fact, during clinical trials of the vaccine, hundreds of women who received Gardasil contracted HPV disease. Furthermore, the drug maker warns women (in its product insert) that "vaccination does not substitute for routine cervical cancer screening."

Gardasil is approved for girls and women ages 9 to 26. However, the vaccine is not effective in females who have already been exposed to the HPV strains included in the vaccine. In the United States, 24 percent of females are sexually active by age 15 years, 40 percent by age 16, and 70 percent by 18 years of age [Vital Health Statistics 23, 2004:1-48.]. Thus, lots of young teenagers have already been exposed to one or more of the HPV strains in Gardasil. This is why the American Cancer Society does not agree with the CDC's recommendation to vaccinate older teens and young women [Wall Street Journal (Apr 16, 2007):A1+.].

According to HPV expert, Dr. George Sawaya, who analyzed the pertinent HPV studies, the benefits of the vaccine are modest and the effect is fairly small. Therefore, "The recommendation for widespread vaccination of women after they become sexually active may need to be rethought." [Baltimore Sun (May 10, 2007).].

This vaccine is not only ineffective in women who have already been exposed to HPV strains included in the vaccine, but it may actually increase their likelihood of developing cervical cancer. In one study of women who tested positive for "vaccine-relevant HPV" prior to receiving Gardasil, the vaccine had an efficacy of negative 45 percent (-45%). These women were significantly more likely (than women in the placebo group) to develop high-grade markers for cervical cancer. In a gross understatement, the FDA concluded that "there is compelling evidence that the vaccine lacks therapeutic efficacy among women who have had prior exposure to HPV and have not cleared previous infection." [FDA. May 18, 2006 VRBPAC Meeting: Table 17.]

Research has shown that when vaccines only target a small number of strains capable of causing disease, less prevalent strains can replace the targeted vaccine strains. These less prevalent strains graduate from minor factors to major influences and may even become more dangerous. Scientists are now concerned that Gardasil -- which only targets two of at least 15 different cancer-causing HPV strains -- might be allowing HPV strains previously considered minor to flourish and become major influences.

HPV vaccine alternatives:
Numerous studies show convincing evidence that diet and nutritional factors can prevent many types of cancer, including cervical cancer, and even eliminate precursors to this disease. Fruits and vegetables, especially, have been shown to have beneficial effects against malignancies [Nutrition and Cancer 1992;18:1-29.]. Among these nutritional factors, folate, or folic acid (a member of the B vitamins) has the most impressive record.

Several studies show that low folate levels increase the effect of other risk factors for cervical cancer, including that of HPV infection. Conversely, high folate levels appear to be beneficial against HPV lesions and other risk factors for cervical cancer. For example, in a recent study published in a leading journal on cancer, researchers found "evidence of a protective role of folate" with regard to pre-malignant lesions of the cervix [Cancer Causes and Control (Nov. 2003);14(9):859-870.]. Several studies also show that folic acid supplementation can reverse cervical lesions in patients using oral contraceptives -- a known risk factor for this "pre-cancerous" condition. Patients with mild and moderate cervical lesions showed a full reversal of their condition in just three months following a diet rich with folic acid. [Am J Obstet Gynecol. (Mar 1992);166(3):803-809; JAMA 1992;267:528-533;Am J Clin Nutr. (Jan 1982); 35(1):73-82.] Other studies confirm these results.

A study published in the International Journal of Cancer found that women who ate the least amount of tomatoes had nearly five times the risk for precancerous lesions [1991;48:34-38.]. Another study measured and compared micronutrient levels in the blood of women with cervical cancer to micronutrient levels in the blood of non-cancerous women. The women with higher levels of lycopene (found in tomatoes) and vitamin A consumed greater amounts of food with these substances and had one-third less chance of developing cervical cancer [Nutr. Cancer 1998;31:31-40.]. Another study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, concluded that low vitamin C intake is an independent contributor to higher-grade HPV lesions [Nov 1981;114(5):714-24.].

Summary:
* Cervical cancer is rare in younger females. Older women -- not preteen and teenage girls -- are most at risk for cervical cancer.
* Cervical cancer is not as common as other types of cancer.
* The HPV vaccine contains aluminum.
* The FDA has already received numerous reports of serious and life-threatening adverse reactions in recipients of the HPV vaccine.
* Some girls and young women developed genital warts, vaginal lesions and HPV infection after receiving the HPV vaccine.
* The vaccine may be linked to reproductive complications, including miscarriages and menstrual irregularities.
* The vaccine's highly publicized 98-100 percent efficacy rate does not,/i> refer to its ability to prevent cervical cancer. The vaccine is only designed to prevent a limited number of "pre-malignant" lesions that often disappear or resolve on their own.
* The vaccine has never shown that it can actually prevent cervical cancer.
* The vaccine is only designed to protect against four of the more than 100 different strains of HPV.
* The vaccine is only designed to protect against two of the more than 15 different HPV strains able to develop into cervical cancer.
* The vaccine does not directly target at least 13 strains of cancer-causing HPV, so recipients of the shot may still get cervical cancer.
* The vaccine has no efficacy in females who have already been infected with HPV strains included in the vaccine. In fact, these women may have a greater risk of developing cervical cancer.
* The vaccine might be allowing HPV strains previously considered minor to flourish and become major cancer-causing influences.
* Numerous studies show that women who make a few simple changes in their diet may be able to eliminate precursors to cervical cancer and even prevent this disease.

About the author:
Neil Z. Miller is a medical research journalist and the Director of the Thinktwice Global Vaccine Institute. He has devoted the last 25 years to educating parents and health practitioners about vaccines, encouraging informed consent and non-mandatory laws. He is the author of several books on vaccines, including Vaccine Safety Manual for Concerned Families and Health Practitioners. In June 2011, Mr. Miller will be giving a vaccine seminar at Dr. Gabriel Cousens' Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center.