Nobel Prize for HIV and HPV Discoveries

It's Nobel Prize season, and unfortunately, the Healthy Turtle did not win a single award. Perhaps our application was lost in the mail.

This year's winners, though, have had a significant impact on the world of public health. Last Monday, it was announced that the 2008 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine will be awarded to Harald zur Hausen of Germany and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi & Luc Montagnier, both of France. Hausen wins the award for his discovery that several types of the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) cause cervical cancer, and Barré-Sinoussi and Montagnier won for their discovery of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, respectively. Each will receive a share of the $1.4 million prize.

For a better understanding of the importance of these discoveries, The Healthy Turtle talked with Dr. Bradley O. Boekeloo, Professor in the Department of Public and Community Health and an expert in the field of HIV and STD prevention:

Healthy Turtle: From a prevention perspective, why is it important to understand the virus causing AIDS? Cervical Cancer?

Dr. Bradley O. Boekeloo: A major breakthrough in preventing AIDS was identification of the virus that causes AIDS, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). As the identified virus could also be isolated for research studies, HIV identification spawned research about modes of infection, the trajectory of the development of AIDS, and ways to combat infection and disease processes.

Identification of the virus also meant that tests could be developed to determine whether people had the virus, vaccines could be developed to prevent infection when there is exposure, drugs could be developed to fight the virus after infection, and behavioral strategies could be developed to prevent transmission of the virus or reduce the impact of the virus.

Before identification of the virus, there was much confusion and misinformation about the cause of AIDS and very little progress was made to combat it. Since its identification, many people have been identified with the disease and have received drugs that significantly prolong life. Also, transmission has been prevented because many people understand the risks of unprotected sex and needle sharing.

HT: What about cervical cancer and HPV?

Dr. Boekeloo: The genital human papilloma virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted disease. At least 50% of sexually active men and women contract HPV at some time in their lives. HPV can result in genital warts, cervical cancer in women, and other cancers in men and women. Unfortunately, cervical and other cancers caused by HPV may not be detected until they are advanced and hard to cure.

There is now a vaccine that prevents the types of genital human papilloma virus (HPV) that cause most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts. The vaccine, Gardasil®, is given in three shots over six-months. The vaccine is routinely recommended for 11 and 12 year old girls. It is also recommended for girls and women age 13 through 26 who have not yet been vaccinated or completed the vaccine series.

HT: How has the understanding of these viruses changed how public health professionals approached AIDS and cervical cancer?

When the virus can be identified and isolated for research studies, new techniques can be developed to fight transmission of the virus, the virus itself or the diseases caused by the virus. The techniques for prevention may include testing to identify infected individuals, vaccines, drugs, and behavioral strategies to prevent transmission or decrease the impact of the disease.

Although no vaccine has been developed to effectively prevent HIV infection, testing, behavioral education and counseling, and treatment have all significantly reduced the burden and suffering of AIDS. In regard to HPV, vaccination, testing, and behavioral education and counseling are all new techniques to reduce the burden and suffering caused by HPV.

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Bradley O. Boekeloo, PhD, MS, is a Professor and the Director of Graduate Studies for the Department of Public and Community Health. He is the founder and director of the Laboratory for Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention, which has received over 1.5 million dollars in federal funding.