Many parents do not have their daughter vaccinated against HPV for fear that they will have earlier or unprotected sex. They are wrong and we explain why.
According to a new study published in the CMAJ, vaccination against the papillomavirus (HPV) did not negatively impact the sexual behavior of adolescent girls, even encouraging them to protect themselves better. Despite the effectiveness of the vaccine to fight against this STD, many parents do not subject their daughter to it, for fear that they will have sexual intercourse sooner or unprotected.
“The HPV vaccine has proven to be a remarkably effective and safe vaccine. However, parents are concerned that the use of the HPV vaccine may promote risky sexual behavior among teenage girls,” laments physician Gina Ogilvie, director of the study. To overcome these prejudices, his team took stock of the sexual journey of 300,000 Canadian college girls in 2003, 2008 and 2013. In 2008, all were vaccinated against the papillomavirus as part of a public health policy.
Less sex before age 14
After a survey, the percentage of girls who declared having had sexual intercourse increased from 21.3% in 2003 to 20.6% in 2008, then to 18.3% in 2013. The proportion of girls having sexual intercourse before birth age of 14 also decreased between 2008 and 2013. Condom use increased over time, from 65.6% in 2003 to 68.9% in 2013.
“Our analyzes indicate that implementation of a school-based HPV vaccination program did not lead to an increase in risky sexual behaviors among adolescent girls,” the authors conclude. “These results should help allay parents’ fears,” they said.
Recent studies showed that the HPV vaccine did protect against precancerous lesions of the cervix without side effects, although it did not work as well in women aged 25 to 45, probably because they are more likely to have been previously exposed to the disease. In Australia, where the national vaccination programme, offered to teenage girls since 2007, was extended to young men in 2013, cervical cancer is on the way to being eradicated.
Condoms do not protect against the virus
In the majority of women, the human papilloma virus is cleared by the immune system. When this is not the case, an infection sets in and causes precancerous lesions which can progress to cancer of the cervix and vulva if they are not treated in time. Following the same dynamic, the virus can develop cancers of the anus, penis, throat and mouth in men, the latter two being contracted via oral sex (and therefore potentially also affecting homosexual women).
Condoms do not protect against the virus, which has proliferated in recent years, among girls and boys. In the United States, for example, most men and women who have an active sexual life will have an infection at one time or another in their lives, according to a study presented at the congress of the American Society of Microbiology. After DNA analysis, 69% of American participants in perfect health were carriers of the HPV virus, through the skin for more than two thirds and through the genitals for 41% of female volunteers.
Screening smears are still necessary
The best protection against the papillomavirus is vaccination before infection, always in men and women. While some countries such as Australia, Canada and Austria recommend vaccination for all adolescents, regardless of gender, no official commitment has been made to this effect in France.
Vaccination is important, but it does not protect against all types of papillomavirus (but against 70 to 80% of them). For women, screening smears therefore remain necessary, in addition to vaccination. For men, any abnormal manifestations in the penis, anus, throat or mouth should lead to consultation. The papillomavirus can in particular manifest itself via anogenital warts. The pre-cancerous and cancerous changes that can result from an HPV infection usually do not show visible symptoms, so getting checked regularly is essential.
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