Three Shots To Be Replaced By One For Human Papillomavirus?

Cancer is still one of the deadliest diseases in humans. The human papillomavirus (HPV) which gets passed from one person to another person through skin contact is life-threatening and can affect your throat, genitals, and mouth as well.

3 shots to be replaced by one for HPV?

The earlier treatment for HPV was getting 2 or 3 shots of the vaccine however in the latest trial which was conducted in Africa it was found that one shot is highly effective against HPV.

Women are more prone to the HPV virus and this is rising at a rapid rate in the US. This trial data has been said to be a gamechanger as this can help women to get better faster and develop better immunity as well.

The trial which was conducted in Africa took into account around 2,275 women who were sexually active. The time span for this trial was from December 2018 to June 2021. One of the key requirements to participate in this trial was that the women should not have more than 5 sexual partners and no vaccination for HPV was taken by them. The age gap of the women in this experiment was between 15 to 20 years.

It is also important to note that these women were tested for HIV as negative as well. Around 775 women had received the vaccine for meningococcal meningitis while 760 women were given a bivalent vaccine for 2 strains of the HPV strains namely the 16 and 18. Another 760 people were given a nonavalent vaccine for 7 HPV strains. 

The trial also took into account the physical and mental health of the people. These vaccines were given as one dose and no additional doses were given to women during the observational period. The trial lasted 18 months and it was observed that women who got the bivalent vaccine had 97.5% efficacy and women who received the monovalent vaccine had 89% efficacy against HPV. 

Ruanne Barnabas from the University of Washington who was also a lead researcher in this trial stated that more research is needed to see how long the efficacy of the vaccine stays for. It has also been noted that the single vaccine has the same level of efficacy as the multiple vaccines which are currently administered. 

The first vaccine against HPV was first introduced by FDA (Food and Drug Administration) around 15 years ago named Gardasil 9. This vaccine can be given out to children from the age of 11 to 45. 

Barnabas stated that roughly 2 women die every 2 minutes in the world due to this virus. HPV is mostly transmitted among men and women during sexual interaction. However, for most men, it clears on its own and for women as well. However, women are more easily attacked by the virus on their reproductive organs and then turn into cancer as well. She also stated that the virus is eliminated by the immune system as well but for this, the person should have a strong immune system.

Africa is said to have the most deaths due to HPV wherein 80% of the worldwide deaths are from this continent. Barnabas stated that they will research more into this and later next year will submit all the data to WHO (World Health Organisation) for review. Barnabas also mentioned that this can be quite crucial in saving women`s life, especially in Africa.

Cervical cancer can be eradicated at a young age and this could be also a huge milestone for the cancer community. More data on this research is yet to be published in the coming months.