hpv (human papillomavirus)

Quick facts

• 50 women die in BC every year from cervical cancer
• The HPV vaccine is 98% effective against the two most common cancer causing strains, HPV 16 and 18
• More than 93,000 doses of HPV vaccine have been given in BC with no serious side effects
• The HPV vaccine is free for girls born in 1994 and later.
  

About the vaccine

The Gardasil™ HPV vaccine is currently provided free to girls in BC in grades 6 and 9. The best time to get vaccinated is grade 6 as the grade 9 program will end after 2010/2011.

The program started in BC in 2008/2009 and girls who have missed getting it this school year can contact their local public health unit to set up and appointment for the vaccine.

The vaccine protects against two types of Human Papilloma Viruses (HPV) that cause 70% of cervical cancers. It also protects against two types of HPV that cause almost all genital warts.

The HPV vaccine is licensed and recommended for women up to the age of 26. If you are not covered by the school-based program please visit your doctor and get a prescription for the vaccine, which costs around $500 for three doses. Studies are underway to examine how effective the Gardasil vaccine is in women, aged 26-45. Early information from these studies has shown the vaccine is effective but currently, Gardasil is only approved for use in girls and women aged 9-26.

• Get your questions answered with 10 Common HPV Vaccine Myths
• For more information about the vaccine, who should get it, its benefits and safety, read the HPV infection healthfile or HPV vaccine healthfile.
• Listen to an interview on CBC radio with Dr. Harald zur Hausen on his thoughts about the HPV vaccine. Dr. zur Hausen recently won a Nobel Prize for his discovery of HPV as the cause of cervical cancer.

NEW: For Parents/Guardians of Grade 6 and 9 Girls in Fraser Health - HPV Vaccine Schedule Change

NEW: Are you a girl in grade 6 or 9 who has received the HPV vaccine? If so, help us by participating in an HPV Vaccine Study in BC.

About the disease

Electron micrograph of human papillomavirus (HPV). Courtesy of NCI. 1986.

• HPV is one of the most common sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
• Three out of four sexually active women will get HPV at some point in their lives.
• Most don’t show any signs or symptoms and can pass the virus on to others without even knowing it.
• Most HPV infections will clear on their own but for some women the HPV will not go away and cells infected with the virus can become cancerous over time.

Every year in BC:

• 150 women will get cervical cancer
• 50 women will die from the disease
• 6,000 women will develop high risk changes to the cervix which are precancerous
• 12,000 invasive procedures will be done to stop cancer of the cervix from developing

HPV visualized

Other Useful Links

• BC Centre for Disease Control

• BC Cancer Agency cervical cancer screening page
• HPVinfo.ca - Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada
• It's Your Health article from the Public Health Agency of Canada

• Health Canada

• Canadian Peadiatric Society position statement on HPV

• Information in French about HPV

• Centers for Disease Control (US)