3/8/2018 Australia is set to become the first country to completely eliminate one type of cancer

TECH HEALTH ENVIRONMENT SPACE HUMANS PHYSICS NATURE VIDEO POLITICS & POLICY

Australia Is Set to Become The First

Country to Completely Eliminate One
Type of Cancer
The vaccine works.
BRAD JONES, FUTURISM
7 MAR 2018

The International Papillomavirus Society has announced that

Australia could become the rst country to eliminate cervical
cancer entirely.

According to a new study, Australia's e orts to distribute a

human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for free in schools have
been a resounding success.

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3/8/2018 Australia is set to become the first country to completely eliminate one type of cancer

The sexually transmitted infection causes 99.9 percent of

cases of cervical cancer.

In 2007, the Australian federal government began o ering

the vaccine to girls aged 12-13, and in 2013 it was made
available to boys, too. Girls and boys outside of that age
bracket but under nineteen are also entitled to two free
doses of the vaccine.

Between 2005 and 2015, the percentage of Australian women

aged between 18 and 24 who had HPV dropped from 22.7
percent to just 1.1 percent.

Immunization rates have increased further since 2015,

contributing to what's being described as a "herd protection"
e ect.

The world isn't catching up

In the US, the HPV vaccine is not free. It can cost as much as
US$450 for the full regimen, according to the Association of
Reproductive Health Professionals, although nancial
assistance is often available.

In 2016, 78.6 percent of 15-year-old Australian girls, and 72.9

percent of 15-year-old Australian boys were vaccinated – but
only 50 percent of American girls between 13 and 17, and 38
percent of American boys between 13 and 17 had received
the vaccination, as per data published by the Henry J. Kaiser
Family Foundation.

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3/8/2018 Australia is set to become the first country to completely eliminate one type of cancer

The situation is much worse in the developing world, where

papillomavirus incidence rate remains high.

"Two-thirds of the world's population of women don't get

access to what Australian women do," said Joe Tooma, the
chief executive of the Australian Cervical Cancer Foundation.

"Unless we do something, it will still be one of the major

cancer killers in developing countries."

Administering the HPV vaccine in schools has also proven to

be e ective in a trial that took place in Bhutan.

O ering this kind of free access to the vaccine in other

developing countries may seem like an expensive measure,
but as the Australian example shows, it could ease the
burden of cervical cancer down the line.

This article was originally published by Futurism. Read

the original article.

Learn More
It Works! One-third of young girls get
GenomeWeb HPV vaccine to prevent cervical
cancer
First global guidance for HPV Washington University in St. Louis,
vaccination for cervical cancer ScienceDaily
prevention
American Society of Clinical Oncology,
The role of government and
ScienceDaily regulation in cancer prevention

HPV: Vaccination and test Otis W Brawley et al., The Lancet Oncology
reduce cancer risk by more
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3/8/2018 Australia is set to become the first country to completely eliminate one type of cancer

than 90% Vaccines against human

Medical University of Vienna, ScienceDaily papilloma virus
DermNet NZ

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