HPV Vaccine Available to More Students

Thousands of females in the province will have a better chance of avoiding cervical cancer, thanks to a one-time expansion of the province's voluntary Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccination program.

During the 2009-2010 school year, the HPV vaccine will be offered free of charge to female students in grade seven and grade 10. During the previous two school years the vaccine was only available to female students in grade seven. This program will give grade 10 students, who missed the first vaccination year, a chance to be immunized.

"Nova Scotian women suffer from the highest incidence of invasive cervical cancer in Canada, and HPV is almost always the root cause," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief public health officer. "By making the vaccine available to female students in grade seven and grade 10, the province is renewing its commitment to help Nova Scotians live longer, healthier, and more productive lives."

Seventy-five percent of Canadians will have at least one HPV infection in their lifetime. Most never know they have been infected. The virus can lead to warts, lesions, or even cancer. Four hundred Canadian women die each year from cervical cancer. The HPV vaccine protects against four strains of HPV, which are responsible for 70 per cent of cervical cancers and 90 per cent of genital warts.

Health Canada approved the first HPV vaccine in 2006. In 2007 the government of Canada created an HPV trust fund to implement the vaccination process. Nova Scotia received $8.4 million and $1.6 million of that will be invested in a vaccination program for female students in grade 10. The program will not be repeated. So far, 12,000 Nova Scotia women have voluntarily taken the vaccination.