In the spirit of HPV awareness day celebrated on 4 March, here are some facts about the human papillomavirus, the illnesses it is linked to and its prevention through vaccination.
Did you know:
As a preventive measure against cervical cancer, 12-year-old girls receive the HPV vaccination free of charge as part of the national vaccination plan. This prevents permanent HPV infections and the precancerous conditions and tumours caused by HPV in 85-95% of cases.
This vaccine has been used for over a decade elsewhere in the word and its effect is obvious – cervical changes caused by HPV have reduced significantly.