HPV Vaccine Prevents Genital Warts

The HPV vaccine, even a partial dose, shows signs of preventing genital warts, according to Swedish Researchers.

The HPV vaccine, which is used to prevent an infection of the human paillomavirus in preteen girls and boys  11 to 12 years of age, has been proven as an effective protection against cervical and anal cancers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC also states that the vaccine shows signs of preventing infections like genital warts, but no measured scientific evidence of this correlation had ever been recorded, until now.

According to a recent study published by Journal of the American Medical Association, although the HPV vaccine is only complete when three doses are administered over 6 months, even two doses of the vaccination in girls younger than 17 resulted to a "considerable reduction in risk" of condyloma, commonly known as genital warts.

It should be noted that this study did not look at the effectiveness of the vaccine in preventing cervical cancer. Researchers were only looking for its effect on the likelihood of contracting condyloma.

Using the Swedish nationwide population-based health data registers, researchers looked at data on over 1 million girls between the ages of 10 and 24. They compared rates of condyloma incidents to HPV vaccination numbers, looking for a correlation.

Over 20,000 incidents of genital warts were indentified during the follow-up period of the study, but only 322 of those were identified in women who had at least one dose of the vaccine. The reduced chance of infection decreased more with each dose of the 3-part series, with the maximum redcution when the full series had been administered.

Still, researchers pointed out that girls who received only 2 doses of the vaccine were only slightly less protected against condyloma. For those who only received two treatments, 58 more cases of genital warts per 100,000 women were observed, compared to those who received all three doses.

This, of course is good news for the CDC, which urges U.S. citizens to take advantage of the wide availability of the HPV vaccine and its many benefits. According to the CDC, as of 2012, about half of U.S. girls have had at least one dose of the vaccine. Still, only 33 percent have received all three recommended doses.

The study published by Journal of the American Medical Association on February 12.