The Human Papillomavirus, or HPV, is a common virus that, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, affects 14 million people each year. In most cases, the virus is defeated by the normal immune system but in other cases, it can lead to a variety of cancers, and yet, local healthcare providers say that it’s difficult to get parents to vaccinate their children against the virus.

HPV is spread through sexual contact, and there are more than 40 types of the virus. According to the CDC, HPV can cause genital warts, but can also lead to cancer, especially cervical cancer.

The CDC recommends that all preteens, male and female, be vaccinated at the age of 11 or 12. The vaccination is given in a series of three doses and is intended to prevent the most common types of HPV.

According to Susan Sheets, a registered nurse at Wayne County Public Health, some parents are hesitant to have their children vaccinated because of the implications of having them being vaccinated for a sexually transmitted disease.

“It’s one that we’re having a lot of trouble with getting the parents to have their children vaccinated because a lot of them feel that it opens the door to them having sex,” Sheets explained on Wednesday. “And a lot of times, we can get them to do the first shot, but they’re not coming back to get the second and third doses to give them full protection from those specific types of HPV.”

Sheets said that they try to educate parents about the vaccination through pediatric offices, and since it’s recommended for any unvaccinated person until the age of 26, she said that Public Health recommends it to all age-appropriate people who come into the clinic.

Dr. David Hannan of Arcadia Family Practice in Marion said that he has also noticed the hesitation from parents to have their children vaccinated but for a different reason.

“There is some resistance to having the children vaccinated, and that’s part of the same anti-vaccine mentality that’s out there, but there is no scientific basis for it,” Hannan said.

“We do our best to educate [parents] and counter some of the myths out there, about the vaccine not being necessary or being ineffective, because the science is pretty well-grounded on this one.

“I hope as time goes on, people will realize the science that is behind it,” he added “The tragedy, of course, is a young woman who isn’t vaccinated and gets exposed to the virus, and then she ends up having cancer later in life when it could have been prevented.”

Hannan couldn’t say how often HPV leads to cervical cancer and said that not all cases of the cancer are associated with HPV, but he stated that it is a significant proportion.

“I wish we had a vaccine against all cancers, but it is going to be a slow, research-driven and incremental thing,” Hannan said. “But, boy, if you can prevent one cancer, with a series of three vaccines, it would be a great thing for years to come.”