“Starting next school year, for every 5thwe are going to generalize vaccination”said the head of state during a meeting with students in a college in Charente on Tuesday. “It helps prevent a lot of cancers. Many countries have done it.”
Vaccination once morest the papillomavirus will not be compulsory and parental consent will be required. Prescription and vaccination can be carried out by pharmacists, nurses and midwives.
Vaccination is now recommended for girls and boys between 11 and 14 years old.
It can be offered as a catch-up until the age of 19 and remains possible until the age of 26 for men who have sex with men.
Fin 2021, 45.8% of 15-year-old girls had received a dose of vaccine, and only 6% of boys of the same age, while the ten-year cancer control strategy 2021-2030 aims for a target of 80% within seven years.
These announcements come days before World Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Disease Awareness Day.
Extremely frequentthese infections are mostly mild, but they can persist and lead to cancer.
HPVs are responsible for 2,900 cancers of the cervix causing more than 1,000 deaths per year, 1,500 cancers of the ENT sphere, 1,500 cancers of the anus, 200 cancers of the vulva or vagina and a hundred cancers of the penis. .
These cancers would be totally eliminable through screening and vaccination, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Back to 5 ideas received around the papillomavirus.
1. The condom is effective once morest the virus: false
The condom does not fully protect.
Indeed, secretions can be deposited on the body just with caresses.
Contamination is therefore possible via genital areas not covered by the condom.
Transmission can also occur through contaminated objects (sex toys).
Remember that the condom remains essential for the prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
2. Men are very little concerned: false
Anyone who is sexually active, male or female, can catch the virus.
Remember that HPV is responsible for multiple cancers in humans: anus, oropharynx, oral cavity, larynx, penis…
3. It’s a virus that you have for life: false
The vast majority of the infected population (80%) gets rid of it spontaneously.
Others will incorporate it and keep it for life.
4. HPV interferes with fertility: true and false
Having HPV does not directly affect fertility.
On the other hand, when a woman has had to undergo more than one conization (surgery of the cervix), there may be
obstetrical consequences such as the threat of premature delivery.
Indeed, the collar can be slightly relaxed. Premature deliveries can themselves lead to sequelae in the newborn.
5. A pregnant woman with HPV can infect her child: true and false
The cases are extremely rare; HPV then causes papillomatosis (breathing problem) in the baby.
