In order to increase vaccination coverage and protection against cervical cancer in the population, in addition to other complications associated with HPV, the Ministry of Health announced a new single-dose vaccination schedule for the HPV vaccine.
The HPV vaccine continues to be indicated mainly for girls and boys aged 9 to 14 years, other audiences include people aged 9 to 45 years in specific clinical conditions (living with HIV/AIDS, transplant recipients, immunosuppressed, victims of sexual abuse and carriers of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis).
New vaccination schedule
The new scheme established through the Technical Note nº 41 follows the most recent recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). In the document, the ministry also instructs states and municipalities to carry out a strategy to rescue teenagers up to 19 years of age who have not yet been immunized.
The note from the Ministry of Health states that control studies demonstrated that single-dose vaccination “provides a level of protection similar to the three-dose vaccination schedule in preventing HPV-16/18 infections; the level of protection was maintained until at least 10 years after vaccination.”
See too: Syphilis, HPV, Chlamydia and Gonorrhea: prophylaxis [vídeo]
Cervical cancer
The vaccine against papillomavirus (HPV) infection offered by the Unified Health System (SUS) is quadrivalent, protecting against types 6 and 11 (responsible for around 90% of cases of genital warts) and 16 and 18 (associated with 71 % of cases of cervical cancer and more than half of cases of other HPV-related cancers).
According to data from the National Cancer Institute (INCA), cervical cancer is the third most common tumor and the fourth cause of death in women from cancer. Worldwide, it is estimated that 570,000 new cases and 311,000 associated deaths are recorded annually.
*This article was reviewed by the Portal’s medical team.
