For the first time, boys in Australia will receive the Gardasil vaccine, a series of shots typically given to high school-aged girls to prevent human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, which can lead to cervical cancer.Under Australia's National Immunisation Program, boys ages 12 and 13 will get the three-round dose of the vaccine from U.S. drug giant Merck ($MRK). The program for boys is expected to cost $21.1 million over four years and include 870,000 vaccinations, along with an information campaign, a vaccine register and monitoring of adverse reactions, according to ABC News. This is all good news for Merck, which could greatly expand the market for Gardasil if other governments follow Australia's lead and pay for males to get the vaccine.
"It is estimated that a quarter of new infections will be avoided by extending the vaccine to boys," said Federal Health Minister Tanya Plibersek.Australia leads the way in vaccinating boys; many health experts for years campaigned to broaden the vaccine to males in their first year of high school. HPV infections hit both males and females, and spreads during sex. In recent years researchers have linked a growing number of cancer in men to the virus. Vaccinating both men and women will impact prevalence of anal, penile, vaginal and vulvar cancers, said Steve Hambleton, the president of the Australian Medical Association, as quoted by ABC.Stateside, about 20 million Americans are currently infected with HPV, according to data from National Institutes of Health. About 6 million more get infected each year. In related news, ABC reported a study that found that HPV vaccinations have reduced the risk of infection even in women who don't get the vaccine, a phenomenon known as herd immunity.
- read the ABC News story about the male vaccinations
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Sunday, 15 July 2012
Human Papillomavirus-Gardasil Vaccine-Hpv Vaccinations-Cervical Cancer-Hpv Infections
Friday, 6 April 2012
Cervical Cancer Vaccine-Human Papillomavirus-Gavi Alliance-Hpv Vaccines
In November, the GAVI Alliance, a public-private partnership focused on saving lives and protecting health by increasing access to immunization, announced that it would look to introduce human papillomavirus (HPV) and rubella vaccines in developing countries. This seems to have come a step closer to reality, as, according to Reuters, GAVI is nearing a price deal with vaccine rivals GlaxoSmithKline ($GSK) and Merck ($MRK) for Gardasil and Cervarix. This could cut the more than 200,000 deaths from cervical cancer that occur every year in the developing world.A spokesperson for GAVI told Reuters that "at least one" of these pharmaceutical companies had made "encouraging progress towards an acceptable price" for GAVI-eligible countries, but hasn't identified the company.GSK was one of the first manufacturers to sign up to the alliance, agreeing to supply up to 300 million doses of its vaccine Synflorix for invasive pneumococcal disease. A GSK spokesperson has confirmed to Reuters that the company is in negotiation with GAVI over cervical cancer vaccine provision, adding that "GSK is committed to offering the lowest prices for its vaccines to the poorest countries.""The HPV vaccine is critical to women and girls in poorer countries because they usually do not have access to screening to prevent cervical cancer and treatment taken for granted in richer nations. Today, we have taken deliberate first steps to correct this inequity," said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of GAVI.If negotiations are successful and the vaccine can be delivered successfully to people in the developing countries, up to 2 million women and girls in 9 countries could be protected from cervical cancer by 2015.- read the article in ReutersRelated Articles:
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GAVI to bring HPV vaccines to poor countries
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GSK under fire for delay of new vax program read more..
Monday, 2 April 2012
Autoimmune Disease-Hpv Vaccination-Cancer In Women-Vulvar Disease-Hpv Infection
Merck's ($MRK) Gardasil is used for its ability to protect women and girls against HPV infection. However, it seems as if it may also help some women who are already infected. In fact, data from a study published in the British Medical Journal demonstrate women who are diagnosed with and treated for HPV-related disease may have a considerably reduced risk of reoccurring disease if they have had the shot.The study looked at the 1,350 women who were vaccinated in the FUTURE I and FUTURE II studies and then diagnosed with HPV-related vaginal or vulval diseases (including genital warts) or had cervical surgery. Previous studies have shown vaccination doesn't lower a woman's chance of developing cervical pre-cancers if she had an HPV infection at the time of vaccination. However, this study showed that for women who had cervical surgery after the trials, the chance of developing another bout of HPV-related disease was almost halved. For women with vaginal or vulvar disease, the risk of another HPV disease was cut by around a third.According to the authors, only long-term surveillance can determine the effectiveness of the vaccination in this population. There are a number of ongoing trials to look at the safety and impact of HPV vaccines on subsequent diseases.Still, "[t]he current study moves us closer to understanding the full scope of benefits from HPV vaccination by showing for the first time that vaccine protection against disease can endure beyond the management of HPV related disease in women already vaccinated," states Jane Kim, assistant professor of health decision science at the Harvard School of Public Health, in the BMJ editorial. However, she adds it's too early to generalize from these results. To find out more about the value of Gardasil in women who are already infected will take more and longer studies, but this one does show a glimmer of hope.- get more from the BMJ
- see the abstract in the BMJ
- check out the editorial in the BMJ (reg. req.)
- follow-up the article in Medscape Medical News (reg. req.)
- read the piece in CNN HealthRelated Articles:
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