This article is from page 11 of the 2008-08-12 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 11 JPG
THE Irish Cancer Society welcomed the minister for health’s announce- ment that a vaccination programme against HPV (Human Papilloma Vi- rus), a sexually transmitted infection that can lead to cervical cancer in Some women, will be administered to 12-year-olds from 2009, if it 1s economically viable.
However, like many other organi- sations the cancer support group has expressed disappointment that a “catch-up” vaccine for 13 to 15-year- olds will not go ahead as advised in a report by the Health Information and Quality Authority.
“Overall the evidence suggests that a combination of a vaccination pro- grammes which vaccinates all 12 year olds associated with an effective screening programme will reduce 90 per cent of cervical cancers. A vac- cination programme on its own will reduce probably only 51 per cent of cervical cancers,” said a spokesper- son for the ICS.
“The society is disappointed that the proposed mass vaccination pro- gramme will not be extended to pro- vide a catch-up programme for girls
up to and including 15 years as this would increase the number of can- cers prevented by a potential factor of 13.8 per cent and would therefore speed up the positive impact of such a programme.”
The National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) also welcomed the announcement.
A spokesperson for the screen- ing service said, “HPV vaccines do not eliminate the need for a cervi- cal cancer screening programme as currently available. HPV vaccines do not offer protection against all types of HPV that cause cervical cancer. Screening will also be neces- sary to protect women who have not been vaccinated. In due course it is anticipated that the impact of HPV vaccination on the incidence of cer- vical cancer will result in changes to the operational structure of a popu- lation based cervical screening pro- reaecbeeve slope
For further information on cervi- cal screening and HPV _ vaccina- tion please call the National Cancer Helpline on Freefone 1800 200 700 (open Monday to Thursday from Jam to 7pm and Fridays from Yam to Spm).