Roll-out of HPV vaccine campaigns in Indian schools

Even as Delhi has become the first state in India to launch the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine in schools as part of a public health program, the state of Chennai, which ranks second among metros having a high incidence of cervical cancer, is set to become the second state to launch the HPV vaccine in schools, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent.

Union Health Minister JP Nadda informed the Lok Sabha recently that an estimated 62,416 women died of cervical cancer in 2015-16, accounting for 24% of all women’s cancer cases in India, and 25% of death worldwide.

With close to 17 out of every 100,000 women in Chennai suffering from the disease, a recent study had shown that Bangalore had the highest number of people with 19 out of every 100,000 women, while Delhi came third with 15 cases. Aizwal district, capital of Mizoram, topped the list in the country with 24 cases of every 100,000 women.