The battle against cervical cancer given a new injection

THE GAUTENG Department of Health is stepping up its efforts to prevent cervical cancer among schoolchildren.

The department is continuing with its campaign to provide the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to girls aged 9 and 10 who are in Grade 4.

HPV is a double-stranded DNA virus that causes diseases in humans ranging from common warts to cervical cancer.

About 100 types have been identified and, of those, nearly 15 are believed to cause cervical cancer.

Together the highest-risk viruses, types 16 and 18, are responsible for more than 70 percent of cervical cancers globally.

According to the department, up to 80 percent of sexually active women face the risk of acquiring the infection in their lifetime.

Spokesman Steve Mabona said 221 821 children had been vaccinated since the start of the campaign in 2014.

He said the public sector has a “special dispensation” which allowed it to charge a low price of R147 for each vaccination.

About 190 nurses administered the vaccination in Gauteng while about 5 000 other categories of nurses, health promoters and community health workers were trained to support other nursing activities and provide social mobilisation through community radio stations and other platforms. That was done in partnership with the Gauteng Department of Education, Mobana said.

A government news agency report in 2014 shows that one in every eight South African women die from complications as a result of cervical cancer. A total of 5 743 new cases are reported every year. About 3 027 of these are fatal.

Gynaecologist Dr Thandi Mtsi said a recent HPV Information Centre report showed that almost 8 000 South African women were diagnosed with cervical cancer annually, while more than 4 000 died every year.

“Given that approximately 80 percent of women will be exposed to the human papilloma virus in their lifetime, this is clearly not something that happens to ‘other’ women only. These statistics are all the more disconcerting when one considers that cervical cancer is nowadays a preventable disease,” said Mtsi.

The World Health Organisation has recommended that sexually naive girls and girls between the ages of 9 and 13 be vaccinated against HPV.

“With the aid of annual Pap smears and enough vaccination against the cancer-causing human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection, cervical cancer should have been totally eradicated,” Mtsi said.

“However, because of the incorrect perception that sexual promiscuity lies at the heart of this disease, it has been a difficult issue to tackle. Also of great concern is the fact that girls are nowadays exposed to the virus at a younger age.”

She said vaccinations against HPV became part of the national vaccination programme in 2014 when South Africa became the first African country to fund cervical cancer vaccines for schoolgirls.

“While awareness of the importance of the Nobel Prize-winning HPV vaccine has grown, take-up has sadly been slow,” said Mtsi.

Oncologist Dr Kim Lohlun said that despite the fact that cervical cancer was a preventable disease, it caused more deaths in South African women than any other cancer.

The report warns: “Plastic in our bodies can come from various sources.

“We can swallow plastic microbeads in products such as toothpaste or we can consume it through eating fish and shellfish and a host of other products.

“We can also breathe in the mircoplastics that float around in the air.”

The campaign groups say it is inconceivable that the EU is not taking action and has launched a petition calling for urgent research into the health risks.

Dr Ognjen Markovic, of Surfing Medicine International, said: “Since the end of last century, indications that point to the serious health risks associated with plastic are accumulating.

“They point to a strong increased chance of cancer, hormone disruptions, birth defects, obesity and failed immune systems. This is why we are raising the alarm.

“We cannot continue this any longer.”

Maria Westerbros, of the Plastic Soup Foundation, said: “It is hard to believe that even the largest health organisations and the most prominent scientists are stoically ignored by the EU. Even the plastics industry ignores the signals over and over again.”

She called for action “to leave a healthier world behind for our children”. –Daily Mail

The vaccination will be given to girls in Grade 4