- India
- Feb 28
- Sreesha V.M
PM Modi launches HPV vaccination drive for 14-year-old girls
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a nationwide Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign for 14-year-old girls.
• The campaign against cervical cancer was formally inaugurated at a programme held in Kayad, Ajmer on February 28.
• Cervical cancer is a significant public health concern in the country as well as globally.
• It is caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and can be prevented by a vaccine.
• Cervical cancer remains the second most common cancer among women in India, with over 1.2 lakh new cases and nearly 80,000 deaths annually.
How the programme will be implemented?
• The vaccine will be provided free of cost at designated government health facilities.
• Vaccination will be conducted at Ayushman Arogya Mandirs (Primary Health Centres), Community Health Centres, sub-district and district hospitals as well as government medical colleges and hospitals.
• A single-dose Gardasil 4 vaccine, a quadrivalent HPV vaccine, will be used under the campaign.
• The injection provides protection against HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for cervical cancer, as well as types 6 and 11.
• Vaccination will be voluntary and informed consent from parents/guardians will be obtained prior to administration.
• The special campaign will run in mission mode over a three-month period, during which eligible girls can receive the vaccine daily at designated facilities.
• Thereafter, the vaccine will continue to be available on routine immunisation days.
Some facts on HPV:
• Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a small, non-enveloped deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus that infects skin or mucosal cells.
• HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection.
• It can affect the skin, genital area and throat.
• HPV usually goes away on its own without treatment. The immune system usually clears HPV from the body within a year or two with no lasting effects.
• Some HPV infections cause genital warts. Others can cause abnormal cells to develop, which go on to become cancer.
• At least 13 of more than 100 known HPV genotypes can cause cancer of the cervix and are associated with other anogenital cancers and cancers of the head and neck.
• The two most common ‘high-risk’ genotypes (HPV 16 and 18) cause approximately 70 per cent of all cervical cancers.
• Cancers from HPV can be prevented with vaccines.
• Currently, cervical cancer is the only HPV-caused cancer for which screening tests are available.
Key points on cervical cancer:
• Globally, cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women.
• Cervical cancer develops in a woman’s cervix (the entrance to the uterus from the vagina).
• Cervical cancer starts in the cells of the cervix.
• The cervix connects the uterus to the vagina (birth canal).
• Cervical cancer usually develops slowly over time. Before cancer appears in the cervix, the cells of the cervix go through changes known as dysplasia, in which abnormal cells begin to appear in the cervical tissue. Over time, if not destroyed or removed, the abnormal cells may become cancer cells and start to grow and spread more deeply into the cervix and to surrounding areas.
• Almost all cervical cancer cases are linked to infection with high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPV).
• Effective primary (HPV vaccination) and secondary prevention approaches (screening for, and treating precancerous lesions) will prevent most cervical cancer cases.
• When diagnosed, cervical cancer is one of the most successfully treatable forms of cancer, as long as it is detected early and managed effectively.
• With a comprehensive approach to prevent, screen and treat, cervical cancer can be eliminated as a public health problem.
(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)