Information for girls

• HPV stands for human papillomavirus.

• HPVs are very common viruses that infect the skin.

• Infection with low-risk types can cause warts.

• Infection with high-risk types can cause cervical cancer.

• The types of HPV that can cause cervical cancer and genital warts are spread by sexual contact.

• Four out of five people become infected with HPV at some time in their lives.

• Most people with HPV infections have no symptoms, the infection clears without treatment and doesn’t develop into cervical cancer.

• However, some HPV infections don’t clear and over time can cause abnormal cells to grow on the cervix.  If these cells go undetected (by cervical screening) and untreated, over time, usually many years, they can lead to cervical cancer.

• Genital warts are caused by low-risk types of HPV and are not associated with cervical cancer. 

• Genital warts are the most commonly reported sexually transmitted viral infection in New Zealand.

• Cervical cancer is cancer of the cervix, which is the lowest part of the uterus or womb.

• Cervical cancer develops slowly over time, usually taking many years, when abnormal cells grow on the cervix.

• These abnormal cells are caused by infection with high-risk types of HPV.

• Abnormalities in the cells of the cervix can be detected by cervical screening and removed.

• Without cervical screening about one out of 90 women will develop cervical cancer and one out of 200 will die from it.  With screening about one out of 570 will develop cervical cancer and one out of 1,280 will die from it.

• The most important risk factor for cervical cancer is HPV infection.

• Other factors that increase the risk of cervical cancer include having people in your family who have had it (your family history) and smoking.

• Young women who smoke are twice as likely as non-smokers to develop cervical cancer when they are older.

• HPV immunisation enables your body’s immune system to produce its own protection (antibodies) against the two types of HPV that cause 7 out of 10 (70%) cervical cancers and the two types of HPV that cause 9 out of 10 (90%) genital warts.

• For the immunisation to be most effective, you should be immunised before you are likely to be exposed to HPV, which means before you start having any type of sexual contact with another person (even touching).

• Although having sex may be a long way off, being immunised now will mean you are less likely to have an HPV infection, receive an abnormal smear test result, or develop cervical cancer when you’re older.

• There is also good evidence that younger girls develop a stronger immune response from the vaccine compared with older girls.

• You are encouraged to discuss the decision to immunise with your parents or caregivers.
  

• If you are already having sex, you should still consider having the HPV immunisation. It’s unlikely you will have been exposed to all four HPV types the vaccine protects against.

• The HPV immunisation will not protect you from other sexually transmitted infections or prevent pregnancy. 

• Using condoms helps prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections. Condoms may not completely eliminate the risk of HPV infection because the virus can be contracted through skin-to-skin contact beyond the covered area.

• Yes.  The vaccine does not protect against 30% of HPV types that can lead to cervical cancer, so you will still have to have regular smear tests when you’re older.

• Regular three-yearly smear tests are recommended for all women aged 20 to 70 if they have ever been sexually active. 

• Together, HPV immunisation, cervical screening and practising safe sex will offer you the most effective protection against cervical cancer.

• Click here for more information about New Zealand’s National Cervical Screening Programme.

The vaccine also helps to protect against less common cancers, such as vaginal and other genital cancers and some mouth and throat cancers that are caused by HPV infection.