HPV Vaccination Camp at Safdarjung Hospital

Published by : BST News Desk 

Cancer is multifactorial in etiology. Two cancers have been found to have a viral etiology and vaccines have been developed for both, the first being Hepatitis B virus and liver cancer, the second being human papillomavirus (HPV) which causes cervical and other cancers. Hepatitis B vaccination is now offered at birth to all infants as part of the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) which confers lifelong immunity. HPV vaccination, although approved by NTAGE, is yet to be implemented in the UIP. We thank the RCOG North Zone for this initiative of donating vaccines to needy girls.

HPV is a common virus that infects majority of men and women at some time during their lives. In about 10% of cases the immune system does not clear the infection. Such individuals are at risk of developing cervical cancer, the second most common cancer among women in India, which contributes to one-fifth of the global burden. Dr Harald zur Hausen from Germany was awarded the Nobel Prize in 2008 for his discovery that persistent infection with high-risk (oncogenic) strains of HPV is the necessary cause of cervical cancer. This discovery led to the development of prophylactic HPV vaccines and HPV tests now used for Cervical Cancer Screening. HPV is also responsible for other anogenital cancers (vaginal, vulvar, penile and anal), oropharyngeal cancer and genital warts in men & women. 

Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative by World Health Organization (WHO)

Perceiving cervical cancer to be a significant preventable public health problem, WHO launched the Global Strategy for cervical cancer elimination on 17 November 2020. This global declaration has been signed by 194 countries including India. The goal is to bring down the incidence of cervical cancer to less than 4 per 100,000 person years. Using a 3-pillar approach, the following targets are to be achieved by 2030:

Vaccination: 90% of girls fully vaccinated with the HPV vaccine by the age of 15 years by including it in National Immunization Programs (NIP). 

Screening: 70% of women screened using a high-performance test (HPV test) at 35, and again by the age of 45 years.

Treatment: 90% of women with pre-cancer treated and 90% of women with invasive cancer managed.

Presently, 143 countries have included HPV vaccine in their national programs. The primary target group has been defined as girls aged 9-14 years, catchup vaccination is till 25 yrs. 75 countries have implemented national programs for both boys and girls. With increasing availability and affordability of HPV vaccines this should eventually be possible in India also.

In 2022, the WHO Position Statement endorsed an off-label recommendation of fewer doses of HPV vaccine recommending one or two doses of HPV vaccine (Gardasil 4) till the age of 20 years and two doses for those over 21 years. Presently 60 countries have implemented one-dose vaccination policy including Australia, UK and some high income countries also.

Large studies and experience of administration of millions of doses of HPV vaccines in vaccination programs globally have not identified any significant adverse effects attributable to the vaccine.

Side effects caused by the HPV vaccine are generally the same as any intramuscular vaccine, namely, pain at injection site, erythema, etc. Some systemic side effects like headache, nausea, fever have been reported on direct questioning. All these but are usually mild and do not require the individual to take leave for this purpose

Countries which have implemented HPV Vaccination have seen a a remarkable decline in pre-invasive cervical lesions and invasive cancer in vaccinated populations. 

On the occasion of Cervical Cancer Awareness month, an HPV Vaccination Camp was organised by the departments of ObGyn and Paediatrics on 4th January morning in paediatric OPD of Safdarjung Hospital where girls between 9-20 years were given the HPV Vaccine; an initiative supported by RCOG Northern Zone India. The camp was inaugurated by the Medical Superintendent, Safdarjung Hospital, Dr Kapil Suri and Dr Geetika Khanna, Principal, VMMC & SJH in presence of Addl MS Dr RP Arora and Dr Krishna Kumar, HOD Paediatrics Dr Rattan Gupta & HOD Gynae. All children and parents were counselled about the importance and safety of the HPV vaccine and the need to vaccinate timely to prevent this deadly disease.