HPV vaccine to thank for 89% decline in cervical cancer
A new analysis has found that human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination of 12 and 13 year old girls has led to an 89% decline in cases of cervical cancer in Scotland. The evidence, published in the British Medical Journal , was from a retrospective study looking at 138,692 women who were born between January 1, 1988 and June 5, 1996, and who had a smear test result recorded at age 20. The researchers discovered that compared with unvaccinated women born in 1988, vaccinated women born in 1995 and 1996 showed an 89% reduction in prevalent cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade three or worse – the most severe level of the disease. There was also an 88% reduction in grade two or worse and a 79% in the grade one strain of the disease. The authors of the study also suggested that there was a “herd immunity” effect at play, as there was also a drop in the levels of disease among women who have not been vaccinated. Julia Brotherton, the medical director of Australia’s...