Sir, – I agree with Anna Cannon of Regret (May 21st) and Dr Frederick Easterby (May 22) that all those with chronic conditions should have timely access to services which can assess, investigate and appropriately manage their problems. However, there is no evidence to support Regret’s belief that the symptoms experienced by their members is caused by the HPV vaccine.
These symptoms are part of a range of findings in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), a disabling disease which is more common in adolescent girls, and which has been recognised long before the HPV vaccine was introduced. It is estimated that there are approximately 10, 000 to 12,000 individuals in Ireland with CFS, with 400 to 800 new cases occurring in adolescent boys and girls each year.
There is no scientific evidence from any country with an adolescent HPV vaccine programme that there has been an increase in the incidence of CFS after introduction of the vaccine.
HPV is the most common sexually transmitted virus, and is very contagious. Up to 80 per cent of males and females will become infected by 50 years of age. If the infection persists, it can lead to cancer of the cervix, vagina, vulva, penis, anus, mouth or throat. Without screening, the risk of sexually active people developing one of these cancers is one in 30. About 300 women will develop cervical cancer this year in Ireland, and 100 of those will die. It is not possible to predict who will develop one of these preventable cancers.
The vaccine used in the Irish immunisation programme (Gardasil) offers protection against the two virus types which cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers, and two which cause most anogenital warts. It is also likely to give some protection against cancers of the mouth and throat. The World Health Organisation and the European Medicines Agency have reaffirmed the safety of the vaccine, and recommend that it continues to be given to young adolescents.
The National Immunisation Advisory Committee strongly endorses these recommendations, and urges all parents to ensure that their child receives the vaccine. If you choose not to vaccinate your child, you are choosing to put her at risk of getting cancer. – Yours, etc,
Dr KEVIN CONNOLLY,
Chairman,
National Immunisation
Advisory Committee,
Royal College of Physicians
of Ireland,
Kildare St,
Dublin 2.