HPV vaccine launched

The Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Education Ministry, launched “Cervical Cancer Awareness Month and Prevention Programme” on Wednesday at the East La Penitence Health Centre during which the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine was introduced.

HPV is one of the leading causes of cancer among women and is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Addressing a gathering of students, mothers and medical professionals, Health Minister Dr Bheri Ramsaran said that the vaccine was launched against the background of a strong vaccination programme, which has been in operation for several decades. Dr Ramsaran noted that the launch of the vaccine is another step by the Health Ministry to bring more services to wider sections of the population.

“I am told that one shot of these vaccines costs as much as US$ 14, making it among the more expensive vaccines in our programme. Currently, the Health Ministry and the wider government is looking at how we can transit some of the foreign funded programmes into our government of Guyana budget,” Minster Ramsaran noted.

According to the health minister, the vaccine was introduced initially in mainly the coastal regions and the vaccination programme will target girls between the ages of 11 and 12. The minister expressed much optimism that as time progresses, there will be a wider coverage. He noted that the vaccine is one of two which are available on the global market and will protect persons from four types of the Human Papilloma Virus. The other vaccine covers two types of the virus.

The two HPV vaccines on the market are Gardasil and Cervarix. Both vaccines protect against HPV- 16 and HPV- 18. Gardasil also protects against the two HPV- 6 and HPV- 11 that cause 90 per cent of genital warts.

Dr Ramsaran noted that the vaccine will not only help prevent cervical cancer but genital warts as well as.

The minster explained that the reason for administering the vaccine to children at a young age or before their first sexual encounter is because 80 per cent of the world’s population is at some time exposed to HPV.

Immunisation programmes

Director of maternal and child health, Dr Janice Woolford said that Guyana has one of the most successful immunisation programmes, dating back from the 1970s. She noted that the immunisation programme over a long period has reduced the infant and child mortality rate in Guyana.

“The immunisation programme provides free vaccines to the population. So the HPV vaccination programme that we’re going to have is intended to decrease the incidents of genital warts and precancerous changes in the cervix and vulva in females,” Dr Woolford stated.

She noted that the HPV is a very common virus which can be easily spread through skin to skin contact through sexual activity.

She said that the vaccine works by building the immune system to fight the infection. According to Dr Woolford, research suggests that protection can last as long as six to 10 years after the vaccine was administered.

Pan American Health Organisation Country Representative Dr Beverly Barnett said that cervical cancer is preventative and is one of the few cancers that can be prevented and not just caught early to prevent death. She said that cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women.

“Each year it affects about 500,000 women and it causes about 260,000 deaths. Screening by pap smear or Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) aims to detect precancerous regions in the cervix and to treat them so that the cancer does not develop,” Barnett stated.

According to Barnett, in the region of the Americas, it is estimated that more than 86,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and over 38,000 will die of the disease. She said that there is significant variation of the burden of HPV in the Americas related to access to screening and parental services.