3 replies to this topic

[Xan12]

Now i have learned that natural microorganisms compete with pathogen microorganisms.

Transfered to the to the HPV vaccine isn`t there a risk that when you cure one type of HPV infection that you then remove the competition for other strains of HPV. Now i realise that the HPV virus that the vaccine works againt causes cancer.
But isn`T there a risk that curing this one strain leave the door open for a more dangerous strain to infect pepolel unchecked or that antoer strain just takes the old ones place making the vaccine have littel to no long term effect ?

I would appreciate any info or links you can provide

Hope you understand my question english is not my first language so not the best typing or grammar.

[bob1]

The answer is yes and no, yes vaccination will leave an opening for other strains of virus or variants on the strains immunized against, but the other strains are less common and have not been found to cause cancers with the frequency that the vaccinated against strains do.

Also viruses don't really compete like it is understood in evolutionary biology - more than one virus can infect the same cell at the same time, this is often what causes a new and virulent strain of virus to develop. For example the variants of flu being talked about at the moment, such as H1N1, are often composed of variants found in a couple of species or distinct regions, but have infected one or more individuals also carrying another strain and undergone recombination to produce a new strain.

Edited by bob1, 28 October 2009 - 03:39 PM.

[Xan12]

Brilliant thank for the info.

Do you have any links with information or tips on books i can look up ?

I would be particularly interested in just how 2 viruses can occupy the same cell. Aspecaly when they are fairly similar. I mean wouldn`t they try to insert them selfs in about the same region of the cells DNA and so the host cell can only be forced to make one of the types of viron ?

[Penguin]

Xan12, on Oct 29 2009, 03:13 AM, said:

Brilliant thank for the info.

Do you have any links with information or tips on books i can look up ?

I would be particularly interested in just how 2 viruses can occupy the same cell. Aspecaly when they are fairly similar. I mean wouldn`t they try to insert them selfs in about the same region of the cells DNA and so the host cell can only be forced to make one of the types of viron ?

This is exactly how new influenza strains are created. If a cell is co-infected with 2 different strains of flu (e.g. a pig flu and a human flu) then genetic reassortment can occur creating a new strain (e.g. H5N1)

As for the HPV question, the sub-types waiting in the wings are HPV45, 31 and 33, these all cause anogenital cancers but are present in the population at a much lower frequency (around 10% compared to HPV16 and 18 which make up 70% of all HPV infections). However there is some evidence that the HPV16/18 vaccine may cross-react with 31, 33, 45, and 52:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?d...p;term=19387841

P

Edited by Penguin, 29 October 2009 - 06:22 AM.