HPV Vaccination Campaign to be re-launched in October

The Public Health Ministry, in collaboration with the Pan American/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), is re-launching the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Vaccination Campaign mid-October.
Director of Maternal and Child Health, Dr Ertenisa Hamilton on Tuesday said that

they were currently on an education campaign while they were expected to begin vaccination on October 16.
At the press briefing on Tuesday, Dr Hamilton said the two HPV vaccines on the market were Gardasil and Cervarix, adding that both vaccines protect against HPV-16 and HPV- 18. Gardasil also protects against the two HPV-6 and HPV-11 that cause 90 per cent of genital warts.
She added that Latin America and the Caribbean have the highest number of HPV cases, noting that apart from sexual intercourse, the Virus can be contracted by coming into direct contact with an infected person who has broken skin or warts.
Dr Hamilton explained that when the virus enters the broken skin, it attacks the mother cells and changes the DNA of the cell so that every other cell generated from the mother cell becomes cancerous and begins to spread thus resulting in cervical cancer. She further explained that in the early stages, most persons display no symptoms, but some signs include bleeding after sex; bleeding after menopause; unusual vaginal discharge –with or without blood; swelling on one or both upper thighs and pelvic pain coupled with weight loss.
She noted that cervical cancer was the second most common cancer that affects women in Guyana and its incidence has been increasing. Dr Hamilton said research has found that only four per cent of cancers were detected in the early stages while the remaining 96 per cent were detected when it was too late, most often during the fourth stage.
In the Guyana context, 27 in every 100,000 women die of cervical cancer annually, with women between the ages of 15 and 39 being the most at-risk group.
Dr Hamilton noted that the vaccine was the most effective way of preventing cervical cancer and said they would be targeting girls between the ages of 9 and 13 in schools. She added that apart from collaborating with the Education Ministry, they would also collaborate with private Paediatricians and have outreaches in communities to have the vaccines administered.
Dr Hamilton said the vaccine was not mandatory, but dispelled the rumour that it may cause infertility, adding that the only known side effects are slight fever, mild headaches and swelling at the vaccination site.
The Government is heavily funding the vaccination campaign and it is expected to target some 36,000 girls. Some 40,000 doses of the vaccine have already been procured.
Each year cervical cancer affects about 500,000 women and causes about 260,000 deaths. Screening by Pap smear or Visual Inspection with Acetic Acid (VIA) aims to detect precancerous regions in the cervix and to treat them so that the cancer does not develop. In the region of the Americas, it is estimated that more than 86,000 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and over 38,000 will die of the disease.
The re-launching of the HPV Vaccination Campaign would also see a host of local nurses, midwives, doctors and practitioners from both the Public and Private Health Sectors in Guyana being encouraged to educate persons about HPV and the benefits of the vaccination.