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Vaccine program protects Australian women against 4vHPV
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A national vaccine program has yielded nearly complete control of human papillomavirus types targeted by the quadrivalent vaccine in Australian-born women aged 21 years and younger, according to results of a cross-sectional study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases.
“In this study, we have shown the effectiveness of a national vaccination program in Australia, which could be applicable to other worldwide settings,” Eric P. F. Chow, PhD, MPH, an adjunct senior research fellow at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues wrote. “It provides, for the first time, an indication of whether a 70% coverage for a women and girls-only vaccination program could be sufficient for [quadrivalent human papillomavirus (4vHPV)] types to almost disappear.”
In 2007, Australia launched a free national HPV vaccination program, which offered vaccines to girls aged 12 to 13 years at school. A catch-up program for women and girls aged 13 to 26 years was available through general practice and community immunization clinics, the researchers wrote.
In this study, Chow, along with Sepehr N. Tabrizi, PhD, senior research scientist in the department of microbiology at The Royal Women’s Hospital in Victoria, Australia, and colleagues evaluated the success of the program. They included 1,202 women aged 25 years and younger diagnosed with chlamydia who attended the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre. Thirty-nine percent of the cohort were born in Australia; 55% were born overseas, and 6% were unidentified.
Sepehr N. Tabrizi
The researchers noted that the prevalence of any HPV type in all women was stable during the study period, which ran from July 2004 to June 2014. However, within 3 years of the launch of the national vaccination program, the prevalence of 4vHPV types decreased significantly. In fact, they found that HPV types 6, 11, 16 and 18 have been nearly eliminated in Australian-born women aged 21 years and younger who completed the three-dose series.
“Transmission of both low-risk and high-risk 4vHPV vaccine types decreased rapidly and almost disappeared when vaccination commenced, with a coverage of about 70% in women vaccinated before sexual activity,” the researchers wrote.
The prevalence of 4vHPV also decreased significantly in unvaccinated Australian women, they added, suggesting a strong herd protection. However, no herd protection effect was observed in young women born overseas. – by Colleen Owens
Disclosure: Chow reports receiving a conference sponsorship from bioCSL and support by the Early Career Fellowships from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council. Please see the full study for a list of all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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