HPV Vaccine Has Reduced Number of Genital Wart Cases in Young Oz Women

The number of genital wart cases among Australian women between 12 and 26 years of age has been lowered considerably over the last five years thanks to the nation-wide vaccination program against human papillomavirus (HPV), a new study revealed. Researchers collected data of more than 86,000 patients who visited eight different clinics from 2004 to 2011.

They compared the pre-vaccination data from 2004 to mid 2007 with the post-vaccination data from mid 2007 to 2001 and found that genital warts cases among girls younger than 21 years of age fell by 93 percent, down from 12 percent to less than 1 percent, while it fell by 70 percent among women between 21 and 30 years of age.

Stating that the data shows that the HPV vaccination program has been a success, lead author Basil Donovan, from University of New South Wales, said, “All indications are that the program has been an overwhelming success. But we won’t be certain until HPV-related cancers [also] start dropping as the incubation period from HPV infection to HPV-related cancers is typically at least 20 to 30 years”.



Source-Medindia