Estimates indicate that there are 16.84 million women over the age of 15 who are at risk of CaCx. Black women carry the heaviest burden of the disease. Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a common sexually transmitted infection and can cause cervical cancer.
At any point in time there are about 21 percent of sexually active women in the general population with asymptomatic (showing no symptoms) HPV infection.
Generally HPV infection will clear by itself, however when high risk type HPV infection persists, there individuals are at the greatest risk of progressing to cervical cancer.
Screening women with cervical papanicoloau (Pap) smears is the current method of secondary prevention against CaCx, as it allows early detection of CaCx. However, there are challenges with this method which include: low sensitivity as it fails to detect some early cancer lesions (i.e. false negatives); low specificity as it may detect other abnormal cells that are not necessarily cancer cells (i.e. false positives); and low coverage (i.e. failure to get a high percentage of women participation in the screening programme).
Low coverage is one of the greatest challenges of screening programmes for CaCx, whether with Pap smear or with other approaches. The introduction of an HPV vaccine is a significant public heath milestone for South Africa, and is expected to significantly contribute to the control of CaCx.
The HPV vaccine should be given before exposure to HPV infection, therefore it is recommended for use in girls aged five to 15, which is assumed to be before the age of these girls being sexually active.
Studies have shown that HPV vaccination for young girls nine to 15 years substantially reduce the incidence of CaCx. The HPV vaccination programme is directed at young girls in Grade 4 at public schools who are nine years or older. Grade 4 girls in private schools and girls who are not attending school are not targeted by the HPV vaccination programme.
Parents of girls in private schools who are not yet sexually active are encouraged to have their daughters vaccinated by private service providers.
The first round of the vaccine will be carried out from 23 February to 20 March, while the second round will be conducted in six months.
