By: DR. THOMAS KAISER
PORTUGUESE HEALTH authorities are being pressured to include a cervical cancer vaccine in the national programme for vaccinations.
The proposal was presented to Parliament at the beginning of 2007, when the medicine started to be sold in Portuguese pharmacies.
However, majority party representatives from Partido Socialista, presently ruling the country, turned down the proposal by saying its impact on public health was still not completely demonstrated.
The vaccine is available on the market at a cost of 480 euros for three doses and is recommended mainly for women under 30-years-old, before they start their sexual activity. Some paediatricians have already started recommending and prescribing it to children aged nine and over, as a serious optional vaccine programme.
The official Direcção Geral de Saúde, national health authority, website says that although the vaccine is considered very efficient by the World Health Organisation (WHO), it doesn’t protect women from all types of cervical cancer.
The health department also considers that long-term protection for those who take the vaccine is still not proved with 100 per cent certainty, with results available only five years after a first dose.
The cost/benefit analysis is another factor stopping Portuguese authorities from including the total cost of the vaccine in the national programme.
Official studies have shown that about 1,000 new cases of cervical cancer are detected in Portugal every year. Reports from the WHO say that cervical cancer is the main cause of death in the world, among cancer diseases, and the second main cause of death among women.
If you would like to know more about the WHO reports, please visit: www.who.int. For the national health authority, please visit: www.dgs.pt. This website is only available in Portuguese.
