HPV Vaccination To Resume In Westmoreland

Medical Officer of Health for Westmoreland, Dr. Marcia Graham, says the health department in the parish will be resuming its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme.

Dr. Graham was addressing the monthly meeting of the Westmoreland Municipal Corporation, which was held in Savanna-la-Mar on Thursday (March 10).

“We have been using the opportunity that face-to-face school presents to look back at our HPV programme. Cervical cancer is avoidable, and we were vaccinating our girls in grades seven, eight and nine. We are going to be resuming… now that they are back out in school, so that we can protect the next generation against cervical cancer,” she said.

According to the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) in the United States, HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. It is usually harmless and goes away by itself, but some types can lead to genital warts or cancer. Nearly all cases of cervical cancer can be attributed to HPV infection.

Dr. Graham also outlined that parents need to be aware of poliomyelitis symptoms, as the disease has resurfaced.

“Polio has been confirmed in Malawi… . We are a nation of people that travel a lot… so we are all over the world. I know Malawi sounds far away [but] there are connecting flights that can bring polio to our shores”.

The doctor said some children have missed their immunisation dates, but she is encouraging parents to take the children to get their polio vaccine. which is a drop in the mouth, not an injection.

Dr Graham also highlighted that the symptoms of polio include weakness in the hands and feet, “so, if you have any child, especially under 15 years old that you find having developed weakness of their limbs, please bring them in for medical attention so we can assess them to make sure that it is not polio”.

Other symptoms include sore throat, fever, tiredness, nausea, headache and stomach pain.