The number of parents who want to vaccinate their teenage daughters against HPV or the human papilloma virus is declining over the years, according to a new study reported in Pediatrics.
HPV is the virus that causes a sexually transmitted infection (STI) known as genital warts, or soft growths on the skin and mucus membranes of the genitals. It's the main culprit behind cervical and vulvar cancer. Skin treatment, prescription medicines and surgery are some of the common methods used to fight against the infection.
Having safe sex and vaccinating against the virus are two options available to protect against developing the HPV infection. A team of researchers from Mayo Clinic initiated to analyze the popularity of three vaccines recommended for adolescents in the U.S. - HPV vaccine, Tdap (tetanus, diphtheria and acellular pertussis) and MCV4 (meningococcal conjugate vaccine).
Researchers based their study on the National Immunization Survey of Teens (aged 13 to 17) conducted between 2008 and 2010. The rates of girls who took three doses of the HPV vaccine over six months were very low compared to the other vaccines. A closer look at the issue revealed that the number of parents who do not want their daughters to get the HPV vaccine has gone up over the years, between 2008 (40 percent) and 2010 (44 percent).
One of the major factors that led to this occurrence was parental concern about the safety of the vaccine. This fear also increased considerably between 2008 (5 percent) and 2010 (16 percent).
Apart from that, parents provided other excuses for avoiding the HPV vaccine. For some, the vaccine was not included in the recommended list, or the vaccine was not suitable for their children's age, or their child was not too much into sex.
Concerned about the trend, the researchers urge parents to vaccinate their children against the virus to avoid the risk of developing many deadly diseases.
"HPV causes essentially 100 percent of cervical cancer and 50 percent of all Americans get infected at least once with HPV. It's a silent infection. You cannot tell when you've been exposed or when you have it," senior researcher Robert Jacobson, from the Mayo Clinic Children's Center, said in a news release. "While most HPV infections clear, a percentage linger and start the process of cancerous changes. The HPV vaccine is an anti-cancer vaccine."
According to health experts, 9 years is the preferable time to get the vaccine, and the effectiveness of the vaccine decreases as the child gets older.
"The vaccine works better the younger the child is, and it doesn't work after the child is grown up and is exposed to the virus, so our message should be: 'Give this vaccine now to your child while your child is young and responsive to it,'" Dr. Jacobson said.
