Boys Will Also Be Vaccinated Against HPV
The National Public Health Centre (NPHC) announces that from 1 February 2023, the vaccine against the HPV human papillomavirus virus will also be available for boys. Until now, only girls of 11 year old were vaccinated against HPV infection according to Preventive Vaccination Schedule for Children in Lithuania.
"The vaccine should be available for all children, both girls and boys. HPV vaccination for girls and boys of certain age has been offered as part of the National Vaccination Programme in quite some European countries now. I am glad that the vaccine against HPV infection has been made available for all children in Lithuania, as well. Some countries, which have been actively implementing vaccination against HPV infection, report a decrease in the number of pre-cancerous condition," says Daiva Razmuvienė, chief specialist in the Department of Communicable Diseases at NPHC.
HPV vaccination is administered as a two-dose series with a period of at least 6 months between the first and second doses. Two doses of the vaccine will be available free of charge.
How does HPV spread?
HPV infection is a viral infection that most commonly spreads through intimate skin-to-skin contact. HPV is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the world. Currently, more than 200 types of human papillomavirus are known, of which about 40 types are found in the genital mucous. HPV types may be classified as high- and low-risk genotypes. Low-risk HPV types are non-oncogenic, while high-risk HPV types are oncogenic and can cause cancer. It is possible to be infected with more than one type of HPV.
High-risk HPV can cause anal cancer, genital cancers, head and neck cancers, which affect both men and women. Certain types of HPV cause genital warts, according to Daiva Razmuvienė.
Many people with HPV have no symptoms
HPV does not always cause symptoms, and many people with the virus do not know they have it. More than 90 per cent of all new HPV infections go away or become undetectable within two years, even without treatment. Yet some HPV infections can stay in the body and lead to complications, depending on the type of HPV. Over time, HPV can cause tissue damage and cancer in the body.
Prevention of HPV infection
You can do several things to lower your chances of getting HPV: do not engage in risky sexual behaviours; use protective measures (condoms) during sexual intercourse; reduce or give up tobacco use; treat sexually transmitted infections.
Specialists emphasize that the most effective means is vaccination. It protects against cervical cancer, genital warts and other lesions on genitals, and HPV. The vaccine is recommended for girls and boys 9 to 13 years old, and younger women (up to 26 years) who have not yet encountered HPV (before their first sexual contact).
Specialists point out that the vaccine is prophylactic, not therapeutic: if pre-cancerous conditions in cervix and vagina were detected before vaccination, they will not disappear after vaccination. Vaccinated women will be protected only against HPV types that they have not been infected with.
To get vaccinated contact your family doctor.
Last updated: 17-05-2023
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