What is HPV?
Human papillomavirus (HPV) can spread through sexual contact through the vaginal, oral, or anal routes.
What types of cancers could it cause?
It can cause cancers of the cervix, vagina, vulva, anus, penis and throat.
What are the most common types of HPV ?
In sexually active people, HPV infection is fairly common. There are numerous types of HPV. The majority of them do not cause cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are the most common cancer-causing types.
How does it cause cancer?
The immune system clears the majority of HPV infections from your body within one or two years. However, the infection can sometimes last for a long time (more than ten years) and cause changes in the cells that lead to cancer.
How can you prevent HPV infection?
HPV vaccination can aid in infection prevention.
In India, three HPV vaccines are available.
Cervarix is a vaccine against type 16 and 18 diabetes.
Gardasil is a vaccine that protects against 6, 12, 16, and 18 viruses.
Gardasil 9 is a vaccine that protects against nine different types of HPV
What is the cancer protection and benefit?
HPV is responsible for 90-99% of cervix. So HPV vaccination can prevent >90% of cervical cancers.
Who can take it?
The HPV vaccine is available to girls and boys aged 11 to 12 and up to 26 years old. It is best if it is administered prior to sexual contact, as the vaccine may be less effective once someone has been infected with HPV.
For children under the age of 15, two doses of HPV vaccine are administered at least six months apart.
Teens and young adults between the ages of 15 and 26, should receive three doses of the vaccine.
What about people over the age of 26?
Gardasil 9 has been officially approved for use in people aged 27 to 45 by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Adults in this age range, however, benefit less from the vaccine because they are more likely to have already been exposed to HPV. As a result, immunisation is not usually recommended for people of this age.
If you are concerned that you may have a new HPV infection, talk to your doctor about whether HPV vaccination is right for you.