A reported 90 percent decline in reports of human papillomavirus (HPV) was found as a result of free HPV vaccines offered in Australia. Within four to five years of introducing the vaccine, among adolescent and teenage girls the number of incidents was lowered.
The program targeted girls and young women between 12 and 26 and the new research noted that HPV cases reduced significantly. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cancers related to HPV include anal, cervical and penile cancers. Throat cancer is also associated with HPV. Cases of HPV among girls under age 21 dropped by almost 93 percent. A 73 percent decline was reported among women within the age range of 21 to 30.
"The significant declines in the proportion of young women found to have genital warts and the absence of genital warts in vaccinated women in 2011 suggests that the human papillomavirus vaccine has high efficacy outside the trial setting. Large declines in diagnoses of genital warts in heterosexual men are probably due to herd immunity," lead author Dr. Basil Donovan, University of New South Wales in Sydney, said.
Among heterosexual men, a 39 percent decline was found. Findings from the study were published in the journal BMJ on April 18 by Donovan and his colleagues. The team collected data from a total of eight Australian sexual health service organizations within the period 2004 to 2011.
As Fox News reported, "It remains to be seen whether we will see similar dramatic reductions in HPV-16 and HPV-18 associated diseases, such as cervical cancer, vulval cancer, other anogenital cancers, and head and neck tumors as a result of national vaccination programs," said authors of the study.
