The anti papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine is the most effective weapon to prevent infection that is transmitted through sexual intercourse and over time can cause cancers of the male and female reproductive system. In many regions free and extended up to 18 years
The vaccine is a fundamental weapon to prevent infections and tumors related to the papilloma virus (HPV). But anti-Hpv immune coverage is still decreasing among Italian adolescents and very far from the 95 percent threshold set by the 2017-2019 national vaccination plan. This is demonstrated by the data of the latest report by the Ministry of Health on national and regional coverage in 2020. Thanks to the difficulty in accessing vaccination centers due to the pandemic, eleven-year-old girls (to whom the National Health Service offers the vaccine free of charge) who had completed the vaccination cycle were 30.3 per cent against 41.6 in 2019. The gap is also maintained compared to previous years: in 2018, in fact, the value was 40.3 per cent, in 2017 it was 49.9, 53.1 in 2016 and 56.2 in 2015. The same goes for boys: 11-year-olds vaccinated with both doses went from 32.2 percent in 2019 to 24.1 percent the following year. The adhesion of 12-year-olds also decreases, although more than half those who protected themselves with the vaccine (58.6 percent against 60.8 in 2019, 62.2 in 2018 and 63.4 in 2017). Male peers, on the other hand, recorded a slight increase: from 44.8 in 2019 to 46.6 in 2020. As well as 15-year-olds, who went from 10.8 percent to 18.4. While the 15-year-olds who decided to get vaccinated fell from 70.3 percent to 63.8 percent.
Important appointment
We urge the parents of adolescent boys and girls not to neglect the appointments of the vaccination calendar, because they can save lives, declares Giorgio Conforti, the head of the vaccine area of the Italian federation of pediatricians. The right to the papilloma virus vaccine recognized for girls and boys in the twelfth year of life (eleven years of age). In many regions, the free vaccination is extended up to 18 years and beyond. For other age groups there may be reduced rates. The doses administered are two from the eleventh to the twelfth birthday and three for the older ones. It is important that young people get vaccinated before pubertal development and the start of sexual activity, Conforti recalls.
It also affects boys
Hpv infection is not only female. It can also affect males. It is mainly transmitted through sexual intercourse (vaginal, anal, oral-genital and oral-anal), by contact with the skin or with the genital or oral mucosa. Therefore, the use of a condom is not enough to avoid it. It is estimated that four out of five people are infected with the virus in their lifetime, both men and women, and the absence of symptoms promotes its spread. In about 80 percent of cases, the hpv infection proceeds asymptomatically, because the body has the ability to eliminate the virus. In other cases, the immune system fails to defeat it, with serious consequences such as cancer underlines Giancarlo Icardi, director of the postgraduate school in hygiene and preventive medicine at the University of Genoa.
The link with tumors
Certain types of Hpv are the leading cause of cervical cancer (with 2365 new cases estimated in 2020), the fifth most common malignancy in women under 50. The time between infection and the onset of precancerous lesions is about five years, while the latency for the onset of cervical cancer can be decades, explains Icardi. The other HPV-related cancers are those of the mouth, throat, anus, penis, vagina and vulva. The vaccine is safe and works. Today it covers the nine most dangerous strains of the virus and prevents about 90 percent of cervical cancer cases, 80-85 percent of other cancers of the female and male genital tract and 30-35 percent of those to the oral cavity and larynx. It can be said that the first really available cancer vaccine concludes.
In the Regions
Some regions offer free administration to women with previous precancerous lesions due to the risk of disease recurrence. In addition to the vaccine, to prevent cervical cancer, women are entitled to the test for screening (the pap test every three years for women between 25 and 30 years and the hpv-dna test every five years for women between 30 and 64 years).
October 15, 2021 (change October 15, 2021 | 17:09)
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