Cervical cancer is a scary situation right now. Cervical cancer is spreading so fast. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer amongst women. The World Health Organization has indicated that about 300,000 women who suffer from this condition will die in a year.
Plans to eradicate cervical cancer within a century
The World Health Organization indicates that 90% of cervical cancer deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries. Things like cervical cancer not being diagnosed until the disease reaches a severe level have caused women in those countries to be in a dangerous situation. The World Health Organization has set a goal of eliminating the disease “within the next century” with widespread vaccination by 2030.
The highest prevalence of cervical cancer amongst women is in sub-Saharan Africa. It is 24% as a percentage, while the prevalence of cervical cancer amongst women in Latin America and the Caribbean is 16%. In Eastern Europe, the exact figure is 14%, the World Health Organization has indicated. In Southeast Asia, the figure is 14%.
What is HPV?
HPV, or human papillomavirus, is a name given to a group of commonly found viruses. Researchers have shown that there are more than 100 different types of papillomavirus. The virus does not show symptoms immediately after infection, and the symptoms of such an infection can be identified gradually. However, researchers have shown that paying particular attention to conditions such as warts is very important. It is essential to pay special attention to such conditions that may occur in the hands, feet, genitals or mouth. It cannot be said that all conditions, such as warts, are a risk related to the cervix, and even though many people have been infected with the virus, there have also been cases where the effects of the virus go away without such detection. However, high-risk strains of the virus can cause cancer, and levels have been found to be abnormal.
Papillomavirus infection
This has been identified as an easily contagious condition. Papillomavirus can also be recognised as a fast-spreading virus. Research has revealed that this infection occurs primarily at the age of 25 to 80 per cent of people. The virus remains active for 18 months to two years and is also a non-sexually transmitted disease. However, some research has also revealed that there is a possibility of transmission of the virus during sexual contact, including touching.
Prevention and vaccination
Studies have shown that vaccination protects against human papillomavirus infection for at least ten years. Although ten years has been identified as the minimum period, researchers have shown that the protection provided by vaccination is long-term. The World Health Organization has also acknowledged that vaccination can reduce cervical cancer by approximately 90%.
Who should be vaccinated?
For successful results, the vaccine should be given to girls and boys before they become infected with the virus. What the vaccine does is prevent the virus from getting infected. However, the vaccine cannot act against the virus after infection. Therefore, it is essential to give the vaccine to women before the virus is infected.
Since the virus is spreading widely, the World Health Organization has concluded that it is essential to give immunisation to girls and boys before they become sexually active. It can be given in one or two doses. The World Health Organisation states that two or three doses should be given to people with weakened immune systems.
Rwanda can be identified as a country that has contributed to these experiments, and in 2011, measures were taken to give vaccines to female children in that country. The researchers also concluded that nine out of every ten girls who were eligible for the vaccine were protected from cervical cancer in the first year. They have also concluded that the vaccine is systematically less likely to cause cervical cancer.
