Tag: Immunization Summit

State Immunization Network Hosts First West Virginia HPV Summit

Human papillomavirus, more commonly called HPV, is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, affecting about 1 in 4 Americans. The HPV virus can cause cervical cancer, of which West Virginia has the highest incidence rate in the country.

“We are holding the HPV summit today because we have a vaccine that can prevent cancer – this is a wonderful development that we have that we can use to really keep our communities healthy,” said Elaine Darling, Program Manager for the West Virginia Immunization Network.

“And yet only about 40 percent of females in West Virginia ages 13-17 have received the vaccine, and when you look at males it’s even lower at 24 percent. And yet we can prevent cancer among them, but we are just not reaching as many people as we should.”

The summit included representatives from more than 45 organizations, such as state agencies, insurers, schools and faith communities.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, with support from the Benedum Foundation.

Immunization Summit Brings Awareness of Measles Outbreak to W.Va.

The hot topic at this year’s Immunization Summit in Charleston was measles. An outbreak of the disease in Ohio has health care officials in West Virginia worried.

250 individuals representing school nurses, public and private health care providers, state health officials, and coalition members and partners from around the state attended the Immunization Summit to discuss how West Virginia can tackle Vaccine-Preventable Diseases. But Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, Dr. Anne Schuchat, says the biggest thing folks in West Virginia need to worry about is measles.

Credit Liz McCormick
/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention Assistant Surgeon General, Rear Admiral, Dr. Anne Schuchat at the 2014 Immunization Summit.

“We’re at a twenty year high with measles, and the biggest outbreak is right next door in Ohio. Unfortunately, West Virginia has pretty low vaccine coverage against measles. Only at 85%, and that means that 15% of the children in West Virginia are vulnerable to measles. Measles can be serious and is really infectious, so I would encourage everybody to make sure their kids have gotten the recommended vaccine doses.”

According to Schuchat, there is currently a large outbreak of measles in the Philippines with over 30,000 cases. While the United States has been able to mostly prevent measles from spreading within the country, health officials  did not anticipate catching it abroad.

“What happened in Ohio is that some individuals went to do mission work, to do humanitarian assistance in the Philippines, but they’d never been vaccinated. They got measles, they brought it back, they spread it within their own communities.”

Dr. Schuchat encourages adults as well as children to get their measles vaccination, and says West Virginia is a little bit behind the national average and she hopes the Immunization Summit will inspire families to get their vaccinations.

Exit mobile version