Vaccination and early detection are key to reducing human papillomavirus incidence | Aragon

More than 96,182 people in Aragon have been vaccinated against human papilloma virus (HPV), 79,000 with at least two doses. Since 2008, 12-year-old girls have been vaccinated, and since last year, boys. This virus can cause some cancers that are quite predictable, e.g. CervixBut The most common thing is to destroy the virus before the development of large lesions in 90% of cases.

This Monday marks International Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Awareness Day. A disease that knows no age or gender. Anyone is susceptible to the virus venereal disease.

“Most will make it negative in one or two years, but There are 10% of women who do not deny this. Therefore, the persistence of this virus for many years can cause damage to the cervix. It is they who, if not treated, can develop cervical cancer,” explains Marta Padin, a gynecologist at the Clinical Hospital of Zaragoza.

These lesions can be removed surgically, but the best weapon is prevention. In their case, from the first sexual intercourse, with periodic cytological examinations and for both sexes with vaccination, because they are not only carriers: “They do not suffer from the disease of cervical cancer, but there are other related types of cancer.” papillomaviruses, such as anal or oropharyngeal viruses. Although they meet to a much lesser extent, they are also very involved in all of this because we need to destroy the virus in both parts of the pair“, emphasizes Padin.

Despite this, women are most likely to get vaccinated, 93% of the total. As for vaccination with at least two doses, the increase is more modest: from 5109 to 7089. This is mainly due to the fact that the second dose is administered six months after the first and most of those vaccinated did not have time to receive the second dose.

As for age, The most vaccinated cohort was those over 12 years of age. (born in 2011), who make up 71% of the total, followed in frequency by the cohort who turned 13 years old (born in 2010, 13%) and those who turned 14 years old (born in 2009). , 7%).

It is assumed that with vaccination and early detection, HPV will cease to be a public health problem when the century ends.