Lagos – A gynaecologist, Dr Kin Egwuonwu, on Monday said many
Nigerian babies suffering from genital warts (Recurrent Respiratory
Papillomatosis (RRP) were often wrongly diagnosed for asthma.
Egwuonwu, who is the National Coordinator, National Cancer Prevention
Programme, told reporters in Lagos that majority of the babies died in
the process.
According to him, RRP, characterised by genital warts in the throat
of a baby, manifests like asthma but does not respond to asthma
treatment.
“So, some of the children you see that they say have asthma, they don’t have asthma; they have warts in their throat.
“But, because nobody knows, they will die as if they have asthma,” he said.
The National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders,
said, “Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a disease in which
tumours grow in the air passages leading from the nose and mouth into
the lungs (respiratory tract).
“Although, the tumours can grow anywhere in the respiratory tract,
their presence in the larynx (voice box) causes the most frequent
problems, a condition called laryngeal papillomatosis.
“RRP is caused by two types of human papilloma virus (HPV), called HPV 6 and HPV 11.
“However, many HPVs can cause small wart-like, non-cancerous tumours
called papillomas. The most common illness caused by HPV 6 and HPV 11 is
genital warts.”
Egwuonwu said, “When you have a baby born to a woman who has the
virus, sometimes, that baby comes out with the warts in the windpipe of
the throat.
“That is what we call Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (RRP).
“It manifests like asthma in those children, but unlike asthma, it does not respond to asthma treatment.” (NAN
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