According to the epidemiologist, Dr. Nubia Muñoz, there are more than 4,000 new cases per year and more than 2,000 women die from cervical cancer in Colombia.
Dr. Nubia Muñoz has led and developed research in more than 50 countries around the world in order to identify the cause of this cancer, and after 30 years with the support of colleagues of different nationalities, to identify that the papilloma virus human was the main cause of this cancer.
The Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection that exists. HPV is usually harmless and goes away on its own, but some types can cause genital warts or cancer.
Genital HPV infections are very common. In fact, almost all sexually active people get HPV at some point in their lives. Most people with HPV do not have symptoms and feel perfectly healthy, so they generally do not know they are infected.
The symptoms of HPV that can occur are:
- Small warts in the male or female intimate region.
- These warts can be present in the region of the cervix (so they are not visible) and not be present in the female external intimate region.
Symptoms may be absent despite the presence of the virus. This occurs mainly in men, but it can also occur in women.
In order to eradicate this disease, which has public health indicators in the country on alert, research is being carried out to find the origin and thus create the HPV vaccine, which is indicated for women and men from the age of 9 in ahead and serves to reduce the risk of cancer of the cervix, penis and anus. “The efficacy of the vaccine reaches 100% in girls between 9 and 13 years of age, especially when it is administered before the first intimate contact” as stated by Dr. Nubia Muñoz.
Anyone who has already had intimate contact or already has HPV can get the vaccine because it protects against other types of HPV. After applying the vaccine, it is necessary to use a condom in all sexual relations, in order to avoid contamination with other HPV viruses.
“For the Medical Center, it is very important to create and provide spaces that allow the sharing and dissemination of the knowledge of successful scientific experts worldwide, such as Dr. Nubia Muñoz, who supported and led the development of the vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer, one of the leading causes of death for women globally”, says Dr. Alejandro de la Torre, Scientific Director of the Institution.
In 2018, she was awarded the BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Development Cooperation category for her work relating the papillomavirus to cervical cancer. She has long worked at the Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in Lyon, France.
“I feel privileged and very lucky to know that the work that I have been doing for more than 40 years, in more than 50 countries, today defense mechanisms have been developed, scientific innovations that have made it possible to prevent cervical cancer, knowing the origin of things”, says Dr. Nubia Muñoz Calero, recognizing the dedication and commitment in her work for more than four decades, implementing tests with excellent proven results.
In the conference held at the main headquarters of the Medical Center, she was also awarded the FIGO 2015 WOMAN Recognition, World Congress held by the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics; for his outstanding work and permanent commitment to the scientific advances experienced through medicine, in the search for the well-being of the world community; Dr. Edgar Iván Ortiz and Dr. María Cecilia Arturo, specialists in gynecology and obstetrics at the Medical Center, presented this recognition.
“There are many scientific advances that are expected to continue to be achieved, work continues in the search for awareness and safety in the community, transmit the feeling of the benefits of the use of the vaccine in girls from the age of 9, having successful cases in more than 20 countries. That is the work that is being done now, the defense and prevention mechanism is already in place, now it is necessary that it be used with full confidence and certainty that it does work. It is the result of many years of work in the company of scientists from many parts of the world, who today deliver to society a positive, valuable result available to all”, concludes the Valle del Cauca epidemiologist, sharing what is being projected and the panorama current situation involving cervical cancer and the development and implementation of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.