The vaccine which protects against a virus, Papilloma virus or HPV, allows you to prevent various cancers. And it’s intended for teenagers. Every year in our country almost 6,500 cases of cancer are attributable to HPV: 2,365 to the uterine cervix, 1,900 to the oropharynx, 1,200 to the vulva, 500 to the penis, 300 to the anus and 200 to the vagina. These figures are enough to signal the importance of the protection that a vaccine that is intended and offered to the very young can offer.
“The prevalence of the infection is higher in women between the ages of 20 and 24 – recalls Adriana Bonifacino, President of IncontraDonna Onlus. The best known HPV cancer is that of the uterine cervix, the fifth most common cancer in under 50s.
Through vaccination it is possible to interrupt the chain that leads from infection to cancer at the origin and its extension to men allows to protect the female population as well as the male population more. Prophylaxis is also recommended in women from 25 years of age, using for the occasion the appointment with the first Pap test.
Indeed, it is important to increase not only vaccination rates, but also levels of adherence to cervical cancer screening. Depending on the program, the Pap test should be performed every three years from the age of 25 or the HPV test every 5 years from the age of 30-35 ”.
Why it is important to protect yourself
“Papilloma virus infection is the most frequent sexually transmitted infection – explains Giancarlo Icardi, Director of the School of Specialization in Hygiene and Medicine of the University of Genoa, former coordinator of the vaccines and vaccination policies group of the Italian Society of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine (SITES). It is estimated that four out of five people are infected with the virus in their lifetime, both men and women, and the absence of symptoms promotes its spread.
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