In July this year, we reported that Powiat Bolesławiecki would once again implement a program to prevent human papillomavirus infections. As part of the health program financed from the County’s budget, free vaccinations will be provided for girls in the first year of upper-secondary schools. More information on the local government’s website.
What is HPV?
The main cause of cervical cancer is oncogenic types of HPV (Human Papilloma Virus). Every young woman may be exposed to the virus. Cervical cancer is a serious health problem in Poland. Approximately 4,000 new cases are diagnosed each year, and around 2,000 women die.
Appropriate preventive measures can significantly reduce the scale of the problem. The optimal form of prevention is to combine vaccinations for adolescent girls with regular cervical screening later in life.
Many European countries have decided to reimburse vaccinations for the prevention of cervical cancer and are implementing population-wide vaccination programs. In Poland, HPV vaccinations are included in the Preventive Vaccination Program as recommended vaccinations. This calls for intensified efforts to protect the health of the young generation of girls—future women.
In Poland, as in the rest of the world, cervical cancer is the second most common malignant tumor, after breast cancer, among women aged 15 to 44. In Poland, 4,057 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2007, 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 (gynecological and oncological), optimal cervical cancer prevention includes both primary prevention (counseling and vaccination) and secondary prevention (the early detection of dysplasia and cancer through cervical screening).
The key to the success of prevention programs is raising public awareness of the possibilities for preventing, detecting early and treating the disease. Pediatricians and family doctors play an important role in carrying out this task.
In 2006 and 2007, the European Medicines Agency registered and approved 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. Combined measures, particularly vaccinating girls against HPV, should produce measurable results—reducing the high incidence of and mortality from cervical cancer among Polish women.
(information: Powiat Bolesławiecki/ii)