Population vaccination coverage against HPV against the insertion of the nonavalent vaccine in the national scenario: a new reality to be incorporated
Abstract
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is one of the most prevalent infections on the planet and all men and women will have contact with the virus throughout their lives1 . According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in 2018, about 72,000 women were diagnosed with cervical cancer and almost 34,000 died from the disease in the American continent2 . With regard to the national scenario, the WHO estimates that there are 9 to 10 million people infected with HPV and that 700,000 new cases appear each year. This double-stranded DNA virus infects the squamous epithelium and can induce the formation of a wide variety of cutaneomucosal lesions, especially in the anogenital region, so that the persistence of infection by some types of HPV can progress to cervical and penile cancer3 . HPV infection is of public importance in Brazilian health due to the challenges imposed to control and prevent this type of infection, and vaccination is one of the main strategies to reduce the prevalence of neoplasms caused by HPV.
