Illustrated By Darcy Moore.It looks like modern medicine is well on its way to solving one of our more troublesome “down-there” problems. Australian pharmaceutical company Admedus, which created the first vaccine for cervical cancer, has announced a new vaccine to both prevent and cure herpes type 2 — more commonly known as genital herpes. One of the most common STDs out there, genital herpes, affects one in six people between the ages of 14 and 49. Currently, while treatment for the virus exists, there’s no cure — which makes this new vaccine all the more promising (assuming it proves its efficacy in further trials later this year).
It will be interesting to see how the public reacts to what is ultimately a positive step forward in modern medicine. Look at the HPV vaccine: Considering how successful it is at preventing the most prevalent STD in the world, it’s gotten a really bad rap. Hysteria over possible side effects and contamination has turned many parents off, while some pediatricians are opposed to recommending it to their patients on moral grounds. Some even believe (erroneously) that getting the vaccine makes girls more likely to be sexually active — never mind the fact that it could virtually eradicate the virus that causes almost 30,000 new cancer cases every year. It seems that in this country, a vaccine for an STD will always have its enemies. (Nerve)