HPV vaccine under cloud

The approval extended to the human papillomavirus vaccine in the universal immunisation programme by the Drug Controller of India and the Indian Council of Medical Research has been questioned by the government.

The contention of these two bodies is that the HPV vaccine is required as every year there are 1.3 lakh new cases of cervical cancer in India which cause 70,000 to 80,000 deaths per year.

These numbers show that there is a need for the vaccine which must be introduced in the UIP programme.

But due to the alleged side-effects, this vaccine is facing stiff resistance.

There are two companies who are preparing this vaccine in India. In the initial clinical trials, there were suspected side-effects leading to the death of eight girls.

As many as 24,000 preadolescent girls were put on trial which was overseen by the ICMR and DCGI.

Following this controversy in 2009, this vaccine was not approved. There is stiff opposition in Parliament which insisted on strengthening the HPV screening programme.

However, no cases of side-effects have been reported worldwide.

There have been stray cases reported in Japan and Denmark about the triggering of autoimmune diseases but there are no studies so far to demonstrate the link.

Oncologists in the private sector have been promoting the vaccine for adolescent girls but there are very few takers.

Dr B.K. Raju, senior oncologist, said, “In India, the major concerns are the side-effects which were seen in a few young girls, making them think twice before opting for it.

Preventive vaccination is still not accepted in India, even in the case of flu and pneumonia. Therefore the other modes of treatment need to be strengthened to fight the disease.”

■ THERE IS a need for the vaccine which must be introduced in the UIP programme but due to the alleged sideeffects, it is facing stiff resistance.