Female HPV vaccination programmes are effective in reducing infections

Prof Christopher Fairley, Director of Melbourne Sexual Health
Centre, and colleagues. Prof Fairley is an author on this paper.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes were first implemented in several countries worldwide in 2007. We did a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the population-level consequences and herd effects after female HPV vaccination programmes, to verify whether or not the high efficacy reported in randomised controlled clinical trials are materialising in real-world situations.
The results are promising for the long-term population-level effects of HPV vaccination programmes as infections decreased significantly in various groups where there was female vaccination coverage of at least 50%.

Reference: Drolet M, Bénard É, Boily MC, Ali H, Baandrup L, Bauer H, Beddows S, Brisson J, Brotherton JM, Cummings T, Donovan B, Fairley CK, Flagg EW, Johnson AM, Kahn JA, Kavanagh K, Kjaer SK, Kliewer EV, Lemieux-Mellouki P, Markowitz L, Mboup A, Mesher D, Niccolai L, Oliphant J, Pollock KG, Soldan K, Sonnenberg P, Tabrizi SN, Tanton C, Brisson M. Population-level impact and herd effects following human papillomavirus vaccination programmes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2015 May;15(5):565-80. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(14)71073-4. Epub 2015 Mar 3.