Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world.
Whilst this virus does not always cause symptoms and can go undetected, HPV is known to cause most cases of cervical cancer as
Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is thought to be the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world.
Whilst this virus does not always cause symptoms and can go undetected, HPV is known to cause most cases of cervical cancer as well as being associated with several other cancers. The Australian National Cervical Screening Program (NCSP) offers regular Primary HPV-based cervical screening tests to people with a cervix aged 25 and above, to catch the HPV infection before it leads to more serious complications.
The last two decades have brought us breakthrough vaccines for HPV: Gardasil was initially developed by Australian researcher Professor Ian Frazer and was approved by the FDA in 2006. This quadrivalent HPV vaccine offered protection against the two HPV types most commonly linked to cervical cancer: HPV 16 and 18, as well as two other HPV types associated with genital warts, 6 and 11.
And more recently in 2014, an evolution of the Gardasil vaccine called Gardasil 9 was FDA approved. This newer vaccine can protect patients against infections with HPV6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. Gardasil 9 replaced the quadrivalent Gardasil vaccine in the Australian HPV vaccination program in 2018.
A particular type of HPV that is of interest to the scientific community is HPV45. Studies show that this strain affects less than 1.8% of the population with a cervix in Australia. Australians who haven’t been vaccinated for HPV at all, or were v