What’s left of Henrietta Lacks?

Anne Enright

You are not logged in

If you have already registered please login here
If you are using the site for the first time please register here
If you would like access to all 12,000 articles subscribe here
Institutions or university library users please login here
Learn more about our institutional subscriptions here

Vol. 22 No. 8 · 13 April 2000 » Anne Enright » What’s left of Henrietta Lacks? (print version)
pages 8-10 | 4486 words

Letters

Vol. 22 No. 10 · 18 May 2000

From Joe Baker

I was fascinated by Anne Enright’s account of the 'immortal cells' of Henrietta Lacks (LRB, 13 April), but she should not think that the presence of papilloma virus type 18 in HeLa cells necessarily means that Lacks had genital warts and that she 'slept around'. It is true that this virus is occasionally found in visible genital warts and that population studies show that the major risk factor for acquiring genital papilloma virus infection is sexual behaviour, particularly multiple sex partners. However, genital papilloma virus, or any other sexually transmitted infection, can be acquired through a single sexual encounter with an infected person.

Joe Baker
Dunedin, New Zealand

From Joe Baker

I was fascinated by Anne Enright’s account of the ‘immortal cells’ of Henrietta Lacks (LRB, 13 April), but she should not think that the presence of papilloma virus type 18 in HeLa cells necessarily means that Lacks had genital warts and that she ‘slept around’. It is true that this virus is occasionally found in visible genital warts and that population studies show that the major risk factor for acquiring genital papilloma virus infection is sexual behaviour, particularly multiple sex partners. However, genital papilloma virus, or any other sexually transmitted infection, can be acquired through a single sexual encounter with an infected person.

Joe Baker
Dunedin, New Zealand