Context: The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has announced the successful scientific review and validation of India’s first indigenously developed Human Papillomavirus (HPV) test kits for cervical cancer screening.
Relevance of the Topic: Prelims: Key facts about Human papillomavirus (HPV); HPV Shot in India.
Human papillomavirus (HPV)
- Human papillomavirus is a small, double-stranded DNA virus from the papillomavirus family.
- Threat:
- The virus is capable of infecting both women and men.
- HPV can cause genital warts and cancer in the cervix, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, and throat.
- HPV infection is responsible for about 5% of all cancers worldwide.
- Primary mode of transmission:
- Any intimate skin-to-skin contact and sexually transmitted via vaginal, anal, or oral sex.
- The immune system usually clears the virus, but high-risk strains can lead to cancer.
- Treatment:
- There is no treatment for HPV, but in most cases it goes away without treatment.
- HPV vaccines do not cure cancer, they are highly effective in preventing certain associated cancers. HPV vaccine stimulates the immune system to recognise the virus and produce antibodies that neutralise the virus, before it can cause cancer.
HPV Shot in India
- The Indian government plans to vaccinate girls aged 9-14 against HPV to reduce the risk of cervical cancer.
- Cervical cancer develops in the cervix or the wall of the cervix.
- HPV is responsible for 99.7% of cervical cancers worldwide.
- Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer among Indian women. India has 20% of the global burden of cervical cancer.
- Cervavac is India's first Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus Vaccine (qHPV) developed by the Serum Institute of India. It prevents the entry of four of the most common types of HPV 16, 18, 6 and 11.
- Challenges: Uptake of HPV vaccine is low in India, due to:
- High cost of HPV vaccine.
- Lack of awareness and cultural perceptions around reproductive health.
- Way Forward:
- National Technical Advisory Group for Immunisation (NTAGI) has recommended the inclusion of the HPV vaccine in the national immunisation programme.
- Rolling out a nationwide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign.
- Regular cervical cancer screening (Pap smear and HPV test) is recommended for women to detect precancerous changes in the cervix caused by HPV.