The programme is aimed at first-year female students of upper-secondary schools run and subsidised by Bolesławiec County. A total of 145 girls are currently undergoing multi-stage vaccinations. They are residents of all the county’s municipalities (Bolesławiec Municipality – 72, Nowogrodziec Municipality – 16, Warta Bolesławiecka Municipality – 13, Bolesławiec Rural Municipality – 26, Gromadka Municipality – 12, Osiecznica Municipality – 3).
“Poland ranks among the highest in Europe in terms of female mortality from cervical cancer. I hope that the ‘Pilot Programme for the Prevention of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infections’, in which Bolesławiec County is participating, will improve this situation, at least to some extent,” says county head Cezary Przybylski. “Free vaccinations will certainly not meet all needs, but perhaps they will inspire other local governments to organise similar campaigns and make all of us aware of the scale of the problem.”
What is HPV?
The main cause of cervical cancer is oncogenic types of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). Every young woman may be exposed to contact with the virus. Cervical cancer is a serious health problem in Poland. Around 4,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and approximately 2,000 women die.
Appropriate preventive measures can significantly reduce the problem. The optimal form of prevention is to combine preventive vaccinations for teenage girls with regular Pap smear tests later in life.
Many European countries have decided to reimburse vaccinations for the prevention of cervical cancer and are implementing population-wide vaccination programmes. In Poland, HPV vaccinations are included in the Immunisation Programme as recommended vaccinations. This makes intensified efforts to protect the health of the young generation of girls—future women—essential.
In Poland, as elsewhere in the world, cervical cancer is the second most common malignant tumour after breast cancer among women aged 15 to 44. In Poland in 2007, cervical cancer was diagnosed in 4,057 women, and 1,907 died as a result. Incidence and mortality rates have remained stable for several years.
According to the guidelines of the World Health Organization and numerous international and national scientific societies (gynaecological and oncological), optimal cervical cancer prevention includes both primary prevention (counselling and vaccinations) and secondary prevention (early detection of dysplasia and cancer through screening Pap tests).
A prerequisite for the success of preventive programmes is raising public awareness of the possibilities of preventing, detecting early and treating the disease. Paediatricians and family doctors play an important role in carrying out this task.
In 2006 and 2007, the European Medicines Agency registered and authorised for use in Europe, including Poland, two vaccines intended to prevent precancerous cervical lesions and cervical cancer.
It is forecast that, unless steps are taken to educate young people and parents and to provide comprehensive prevention related to this disease and the human papillomavirus HPV that causes it, the incidence of cervical cancer will continue to rise. Joint efforts, particularly vaccinating girls against HPV, should produce measurable results—reducing the high incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer among Polish women.
The programme is being implemented by the “Fons Vitae” Clinic, located at 29 Karola Miarki Street in Bolesławiec.
(information: Bolesławiec County/ii)