Human papillomavirus (HPV) is a type of virus that infects human. Each one of us is susceptible to the infection especially those who are sexually active as a high number of HPV types are transmitted through sexual contact. It is associated with approximately 70% of cervical cancer cases in woman.
It has become a public health concern prompting the health division to actively create public awareness. Students are offered free vaccination and many brochures and posters are displayed in clinics and hospital around the country, urging the public to get vaccinated.
Coming from a family with history of cancer, i fully well understand the seriousness and the need to get vaccinated. Trust me, you really do not want take the risk. My sisters had taken their jabs and i just took my second jab yesterday, the final jab is in December. It is very pricey (RM900 for 3 jabs) but it’s absolutely necessary.
That being said, there are 2 vaccine currently available in the market; Gardasil and Cervarix. Both vaccines protects against 2 HPV types (HPV-16 and HPV-18) which causes cervical, genital, head and neck cancers. However, Gardasil protects against 2 more HPV types (HPV-6 and HPV-11) that cause genital warts; Cervarix does not. Therefore, naturally Gardasil cost slightly more than Cervarix.
There are a conflicting opinion regarding these 2 vaccines; some find the other better than the other. Gardasil received many negative comments regarding negative side effects which causes aftermath health problem. I’m not too sure about this but as for my sisters and i, we did not suffer from any side effects other than the sting when the jab is administered which was rather painful.
I wasn’t aware of it till yesterday when the nurse informed me that Gardasil is also available for males. Gardasil for men prevents against warts, anal cancer and penile cancer caused by HPV and some potentially precancerous lesions caused by some HPV types. Male from the age of 9 onward are qualified for the jab. It’s something to be considered by our male counterpart.
