Can Genital Hpv Infections Be Treated
HPV infections cannot be treated however, the symptoms of HPV can be treated, at least to some extent. For example, genital warts can be treated with medications or surgically removed however, they may return, and the patient may still be infected with HPV and could, therefore, still transmit the infection.
Available Vaccines And Vaccination Campaigns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Gardasil , a Merck vaccine for four types of HPV, in 2006. The FDA approved another vaccine, Cervarix from GlaxoSmithKline, which protects against two high-risk types of HPV, in 2009. A nine-valent vaccine was approved in 2014. All HPV vaccines use just a protein from the shell of certain HPV types: they contain no viral RNA or DNA and so cannot cause disease. The HPV vaccines have been shown to be effective in preventing precancerous cervical changes and precancerous anal changes in women and men caused by high-risk cancer-causing HPV strains. HPV4 and HPV9 additionally offer protection from several low-risk, wart-causing HPV types.
Current U.S. recommendations and guidelines from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for HPV vaccination for females and males are below:
The recommended age for HPV vaccination of females is 11-12 years. The vaccine series can be administered as young as age 9 years. Catch-up vaccination is recommended for females age 13-26 years who have not been previously vaccinated.
ACIP recommends routine vaccination of males aged 11 or 12 years with HPV4 or HPV9. The vaccination series can be started beginning at age 9 years. Vaccination with HPV4 or HPV9 is recommended for males age 13-21 years who have not been vaccinated previously or who have not completed the series. Males age 22-26 years may be vaccinated.
Hpv Vaccine Safety Concerns
HPV vaccine and autoimmune diseases
Bi D, Apter D, Eriksson T, Hokkanen M, Zima J, et al. Safety of the AS04-adjuvanted human papillomavirus -16/18 vaccine in adolescents aged 12-15 years: end-of-study results from a community-randomized study up to 6.5 years. Human Vaccines and Immunotherapy 2019 12:1-12 .In this randomized study, the authors evaluated the efficacy and safety of an adjuvanted-HPV 16/18 vaccine in more than 32,000 Finnish adolescent males and females over a 6.5-year period by comparing those who received HPV vaccine to those who received hepatitis B vaccine. The HPV vaccine adjuvant was composed of monophosphoryl-lipid A plus aluminum salts. The incidence of new-onset autoimmune diseases was similar in both vaccine groups. Similarly, those receiving HPV vaccine during pregnancy did not have an increased risk for spontaneous abortion or congenital anomalies.
Grimaldi-Bensouda L, Rossignol M, Kone-Paut I, et al. Risk of autoimmune diseases and human papilloma virus vaccines: six years of case-referent surveillance. Journal of Autoimmunity 2017 19:84-90.The authors found that HPV vaccine did not increase the risk of autoimmune diseases in females 11 to 25 years of age. Autoimmune diseases included central demyelination, multiple sclerosis, connective tissue disease, Guillain-Barré syndrome, type 1 diabetes, autoimmune thyroiditis, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.
HPV and chronic fatigue syndrome /systemic exertion intolerance disease
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New Hpv Vaccine From Innovax Receives Who Prequalification
This important milestone will provide countries with an additional option for HPV vaccination at an affordable price and will contribute to sustainable supply of HPV vaccineallowing more girls to be reached with HPV vaccines.
Cecolin®, a vaccine against human papillomavirus , has received prequalification by the World Health Organization . Cecolin is manufactured by Xiamen Innovax Biotech CO., LTD. , a wholly owned subsidiary of Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmaceutical Co., LTD. , and is designed to protect against HPV types 16 and 18, the most common virus types that lead to cervical cancer. Countries facing barriers to national introduction or expanding their HPV vaccine program to the full cohort due to price or supply constraints will now have another option for affordable, sustainable access.
The approval of WHO prequalification is of great significance, marking that Wantais vaccine development, manufacturing process, and product quality meets strict international standard, and paving a broader way for Wantai towards global market, says Mr. Li Shicheng, the chairman of Innovax.
HPV is extremely common worldwide of the more than 100 types of HPV, at least 14 are cancer causingincluding types 16 and 18, which cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer death among women in countries with low- and middle-income economies.
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How Effective Are The Vaccines

The HPV vaccines have demonstrated very high efficacy in preventing the types of HPV infection for which they are indicated . If you are infected with one of the HPV types in the vaccine, the vaccine will still protect against the other type in the vaccine. HPV DNA testing is not recommended prior to vaccination.
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Hpv Vaccine Becomes Standard
In 2006, Gardasil was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration . The vaccine is now used in 121 countries and has been administered more than 125 million times. In 2013, Gardasil reached total worldwide sales of about EUR 1.49 billion.
In December 2014, the FDA approved Gardasils follow-up vaccine which is designed to protect against nine different strains of HPV and sales are expected to reach about EUR 1.55 billion by 2018. This vaccine received preliminary approval in Europe at the end of March 2015.
UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline produces another widely-used cervical cancer vaccine, Cervarix, also based on Frazers and Zhous technology .
The WHO as well as public health agencies in Australia, Canada, Europe and the United States now recommend vaccination against HPV for young women aged 9 to 25. Most countries in the developed world now have government-funded school or community-based public health programs targeting 12-14 year old girls. Australia also has a public health program for boys, as HPV also causes some cancers in men.
On Sunday 8 October 2017, the Federal Government accounced that the Gardasil9 vaccine would be added to the National Immunisation Program.
Gardasil9 protects against nine strains of Human Pampiloma Virus giving 90% protection against cervical cancer, a 20% improvement on the original Gardasil vaccine. Only two injections are now required instead of three.
Gardasil Hpv Cervical Cancer Vaccine
Every year more than 530,000 women worldwide receive the diagnosis of cervical cancer. It the second most common type of cancer in women, and one of the deadliest . But there is hope: Australian immunologist Ian Frazer and his late Chinese colleague Jian Zhou, who died in 1999, developed a vaccine against cervical cancer. The method is ground-breaking because it focuses on prevention, which can be life-saving, in particular for women without regular access to healthcare.
Developing a vaccine has saved countless lives and also saved many women from a protracted and painful course of treatment, involving surgery and chemotherapy.
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The Hpv Vaccine: Access And Use In The Us
The human papillomavirus vaccine is the first and only vaccination that helps protect individuals from getting many different types of cancer that are associated with different HPV strains. The vaccine protects young people against infection from certain strains of HPV, the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States. Since HPV vaccines were first introduced in the U.S. in 2006 there have been changes in the range of protection they offer and the dosing regimen. The vaccines were originally recommended only for girls and young women and were subsequently broadened to include boys and young men. This factsheet discusses HPV and related cancers, use of the HPV vaccines for both females and males, and insurance coverage and access to the vaccines.
Why Is Hpv Vaccination Important
The combination of HPV vaccination and cervical screening can provide the greatest protection against cervical cancer. Also, HPV vaccination reduces the risk of developing cancers caused by HPV at sites other than the cervix.
Not only does vaccination protect vaccinated individuals against infection by the HPV types targeted by the vaccine that is used , but vaccination can also reduce the prevalence of the vaccine-targeted HPV types in the population, thereby reducing infection in individuals who are not vaccinated . For example, in Australia, where a high proportion of girls are vaccinated with Gardasil, the incidence of genital warts went down during the first 4 years of the vaccination program among young maleswho were not being vaccinated at the timeas well as among young females .
Further evidence that large-scale HPV vaccination confers protection for unvaccinated individuals comes from a 2019 meta-analysis of girls-only HPV vaccination programs in 14 high-income countries that included 60 million vaccinated people . That analysis showed that, up to 8 years after the start of vaccination, diagnoses of anogenital warts decreased by 31% among women aged 2529 years, by 48% among boys aged 1519 years, and by 32% among men aged 2024 years, compared with the period before vaccination began.
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Us Patent Awarded For Rochesters Pioneering Hpv Vaccine Work
- U.S. Patent Awarded for Rochesters Pioneering HPV Vaccine Work
The University of Rochester has been awarded a U.S. patent for research essential to both human papillomavirus vaccines on the market.
The patent is for the creation of virus-like particles that mimic HPV 16, the type of HPV that causes the majority of all cancers related to HPV including about 50% of cervical cancers, more than 90% of oropharyngeal cancers, and also cancers that affect the vulva, vagina, penis, and anus.
The patent recognizes the work by three University virologists Richard Reichman, M.D., William Bonnez, M.D., and Robert Rose, Ph.D. for the discovery that HPV virus-like particles, a harmless mimic of the infectious virus with no risk of infection, provoke a protective immune response against the HPV types included in the current vaccines.
The Rochester team was the first to show that HPV virus-like particles created an immune response capable of preventing infection of human tissue by HPV, and the first to test an HPV vaccine in people.
The groups role in developing the HPV 16 virus-like particles, and virus-like particles mimicking other types of HPV, is also acknowledged through patents on three other continents Australia, Europe, and Asia as well as Canada, underscoring the Rochester teams key role in the worldwide effort to develop an HPV vaccine.
Last month, a Federal advisory panel recommended that the vaccine be used for boys as well as girls to prevent cancer.
The Future Of The Hpv Vaccine
Vaccination against the human papillomavirus is an exciting advancement in the war against cancer. This achievement deserves great respect, but it should be approached with thoughtful acknowledgment of the many questions still unanswered . One of the larger unknowns is the length of time that the HPV vaccine provides protection against the target subtypes. It may or may not be necessary to administer booster doses of the vaccine throughout a woman’s lifetime. The regional and global impact of the vaccine has yet to be determined. The true efficacy of the vaccine is going to be limited by barriers such as cost, access and complianceâthe same factors that have impeded the success of cervical cancer screening. Other challenges that remain include determining the utility of the vaccine in immunocompromised patients and its efficacy in men or in women over the age of 26.
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Is Hpv Testing Needed Before Getting The Vaccine
No. In fact, testing is not recommended because it cannot show if the HPV vaccine will be effective or not. A positive HPV test result doesnt always tell you which types of HPV you have. And even if you are infected with one type of HPV, the vaccine could still prevent other types of HPV infection. A negative test result cannot tell you if youve had HPV in the past.
Publishing Progress In Hpv Research

With scientific development comes an increase in scholarly articles. But with 3,000 papers a year scattered throughout a plethora of journals that accept articles on HPV, Dr. Bosch explained there was a need for a more specialized publication.
It was increasingly difficult to keep up with the literature on HPV, partly because it was so spread out and difficult to find. We launched Papillomavirus Research to provide a platform for research on HPV and related viruses, collaborating closely with the International Papillomavirus Society. It offers the HPV research and clinical communities a place to share their work and maintain a high standard of quality in HPV research.
Papillomavirus Research is an open access journal that is already known in the community for its fast and thorough review process the key to maintaining the journals high quality content. It had a very successful first year, receiving close to 80 manuscripts, 50 of which have been published or are being processed. Dr. Bosch anticipates that by the next International Papillomavirus Conference in February 2017, Papillomavirus Research will have been evaluated and accepted in all major indexing and retrieval systems, including Scopus and PubMed.
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Hpv Shots Expected To Benefit World
The World Health Organization’s recent approval of China’s first self-developed vaccine against the human papillomavirus is expected to expand affordable access to the cancer-preventing doses in developing countries, officials and experts have said.
The WHO announced last week that it decided to add a two-valent HPV vaccine developed by Xiamen Innovax Biotech based in Fujian province to its prequalification list. The list contains medicines that pass the organization’s assessment on efficacy and safety, and are recommended for international procurement agencies.
The newly-added vaccine, called Cecolin, protects against Type 16 and Type 18 HPV, the two most common virus strains causing cervical cancer. It was approved for use on the mainland in December 2019.
The National Medical Products Administration said in a statement on Tuesday that Cecolin is the sixth domestic vaccine product to receive the stamp of approval from the WHO.
“It signifies that China’s vaccine supervision, development and manufacturing system, as well as its product quality have won broad recognition from the global community,” the administration said.
“Expanding HPV vaccines will benefit all women, particularly those in developing economies, and help drive the realization of the WHO’s goal of eliminating cervical cancer,” it added.
In order to increase the uptake of vaccines, the organization said concerted efforts are needed to address high vaccine prices and supply constraints.
Teens And Young Adults Should Be Vaccinated Too
Everyone through age 26 years should get HPV vaccine if they were not fully vaccinated already.
HPV vaccination is not recommended for everyone older than age 26 years.
- Some adults age 27 through 45 years who were not already vaccinated might choose to get HPV vaccine after speaking with their doctor about their risk for new HPV infections and possible benefits of vaccination for them.
- HPV vaccination of adults provides less benefit, because more people in this age range were exposed to HPV already.
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The Impact Of The Hpv Vaccine
In the decade since its commercial release, the HPV vaccine has significantly lowered the risk of HPV-related cancers for thousands of women around the world, with over 200 million doses distributed in 130 countries to date.
The HPV vaccine has been extremely effective. In girls and young women aged nine to 26, the vaccines have been proven to protect against two types of HPV that cause about 70 per cent of cervical cancers , and two more types that cause about 90 per cent of genital warts. The vaccine also protects against about 70 per cent of vaginal cancer cases and up to 50 per cent of vulva cancer cases.
Just to give you an idea of the impact the vaccine has had in the first four to five years after the program started, we observed a 77 per cent decrease in the number of 18-24-year-old women with HPV . Precancerous abnormalities also decreased by 34 per cent in 2024 year-olds, which means they will be at a much lower lifetime risk of ever developing cervical cancer. There was also a marked decline in anogenital warts in women in their early 20s, and a decline in the rates of genital warts in young heterosexual men, even before they were included in the vaccination program.
What Are The Vaccines Made From
HPV vaccines stimulate the immune system to prepare antibodies against these viruses. They do not contain viruses or parts of viruses. They are made from proteins that mimic the viral envelope and are unable to infect the person who is given the vaccine. In other words, these vaccines cannot transmit a HPV infection.
Like many other vaccines, HPV vaccines contain an adjuvant, which is used to increase the immune systems response to the vaccine. HPV vaccines do not contain any preservatives, latex, antibiotics, thimerosal or mercury.
HPV vaccines are developed in accordance with the usual process prescribed by Health Canada. This process regulates and oversees vaccine research, manufacturing, licensing, efficacy and safety. All vaccines must go through this process in order to be distributed in Canada.
The manufacturer of the Cervarix® vaccine has not taken steps for this vaccine to be licensed in Canada for use in boys. It is therefore approved for use in girls and women age 9 to 45. However, scientific data, including data from a study conducted in Québec, shows that this vaccine is safe and produces a similar immune response in boys and girls. In addition, in Europe this vaccine is approved for use in boys and girls age 9 or older. Norway has been using two doses of the Cervarix® vaccine for both boys and girls since September 2018.
For more information, consult How Vaccines Work.
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