Free HPV vaccine causes 61% drop in female genital warts in Australia
As I’ve written on many occasions, the HPV quadrivalent vaccine is one of the great achievements of medical science. It protects young men and women against the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the USA. There are over 170 subtypes of HPV; however, HPV subtypes 16 and 18 not only cause approximately 70% of cervical cancers, but they are linked to most anal (95% linked to HPV), vulvar (50% linked), vaginal (65% linked), oropharyngeal (60% linked) and penile (35% linked) cancers. HPV is estimated to be the cause of nearly 5% of all new cancers across the world.
One of the signs of HPV infection as a STI is the appearance of genital warts, and if there is a drop in the occurrence of genital warts in a population, we can assume that there could be a concomitant drop in the risk of these cancers. And we go back to the HPV vaccine, known as Gardasil or Silgard.
In an article just published in PLOS ONE, General Practitioners (GPs) in Australia are managing 61% fewer cases of genital warts among young women since the introduction of a national HPV vaccination program in Australia, which provides the vaccine for free. Read that carefully, if you’re a vaccine denier, or even more specifically one of those “I fully vaccinate my children, but I don’t think Gardasil is important, because my kids will NEVER be sexually active” types. A 61% reduction.Read More »Free HPV vaccine causes 61% drop in female genital warts in Australia