Home | Organization | Services | Member Benefits
Legislative | Socieconomics | Calendar | Contact & Proposals
News
Have a proposal for FOGS or looking for a service?
Use this link to contact our office.
More...
Thank You!
FOGS and the Florida Section ACOG recognize their corporate supporters
More...
Liability Issues Report
Please use this form liberally to report the related practice problems you are facing
The Form
On Call Medical Coats
FOGS has teamed up with On Call Medical Coats to offer our members quality embroidered labcoats
Shop for Coats
FOGS Endorsed Malpractice Carrier offering a 5% discount to FOGS members
More Info
Lubell & Rosen
FOGS Endorsed
Pre-Paid Legal Defense
More Info
Your practice could receive a dividend of up to 24.8% of your workers compensation premium.
More Info
Florida Ob/Gyn Physicians Call for HPV Vaccinations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Daniel Sosnoski
Director of Communications
Florida Obstetric and Gynecologic Society
904.674.0751
February 13, 2007
Jacksonville, FL-The Florida Obstetric and Gynecologic Society (FOGS) is endorsing the concept of legislation to vaccinate pre-teenage girls against a sexually-transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer. The goal is to completely eradicate specific strains of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV), a prevalent cause of both cervical cancer and genital warts. The key tool in this endeavor are vaccines now available that boast nearly 100-percent efficacy in preventing infection from these subtypes of the HPV virus.
"Despite the diagnostic improvements associated with the development of liquid based cytology and HPV testing, cervical cancer remains a significant women's health problem," says Dr. James Orr, Jr., president of FOGS and author of 3 books on cervical cancer. The numbers are startling: Approximately 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV. At least 50 percent of sexually active men and women acquire genital HPV infection at some point in their lives. By age 50, at least 80 percent of women will have acquired genital HPV infection. About 6.2 million Americans get a new genital HPV infection each year and this year genital warts will result in 357,000 new office visits.
The situation is particularly urgent for Floridians, because, according to the December 2006 position statement of the State of Florida Cancer Control and Research Advisory Council (CCRAB), the incidence of cervical cancer in Florida is 26-percent greater than the US average, with a rate of 9 newly diagnosed cases per 100,000 women each year. CCRAB recommends that the Florida Department of Health "should develop and implement plans to ensure all females ages 9 through 18 have access to and receive FDA-approved HPV vaccines."
Because of the tremendous potential benefit that an inoculation program would offer to women, the FOGS leadership recently voted to support the CCRAB position paper and further approve efforts to make HPV vaccinations mandatory in middle school girls (with the provision of a parental opt out). According to Dr. Orr: "The opportunity to prevent cervical cancer and its precursors and decrease the morbidity associated with genital warts represents the highest form of primary preventive medicine, and offers women the first true 'cancer' vaccine."
Vaccination is an opportunity to protect Floridians against this widespread infection, and cervical cancer can be relegated to the same historical position as smallpox and polio. The Florida Ob/Gyn Society believes this to be a strategic position of women's advocacy. Currently, Florida lawmakers are at work on drafting two separate bills mandating pre-teenage inoculations. State Rep. Ed Homan of Tampa introduced HB 561, which would prohibit students from admission into schools without proving they have been vaccinated for HPV. The Senate version, SB 660, is sponsored by Mike Fasano of Port Richey. Similar bills are being considered by legislatures in at least 29 other states.
The Florida Obstetric and Gynecologic Society's mission is to foster the best obstetrical and gynecological care of Florida's women through fellowship, education and cooperation of Florida's doctors of medicine who practice obstetrics and gynecology.
- # # # -
E-mail: dsosnoski@flobgyn.org