A question of age for cervical cancer vaccination in UAE

Dubai: Age, and not promiscuity concerns, remains the stumbling block in vaccinating girls in the UAE against cervical cancer, said a senior Health Ministry official.

Cervical cancer is caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV), a sexually-transmitted infection. It also causes genital cancers in men. Vaccination against the virus is a controversial topic in the Middle East and other parts of the world, with opponents saying it encourages promiscuity.

Dr Muna Al Kuwarie, head of the National Women's Project at the ministry, told Gulf News there was a need to include the vaccine in the National Immunisation Programme.

Different requirements

"We want to implement vaccines for our girls ... [but] in our society, we still don't know when to implement the vaccine," she said.

She said this was because vaccination has to be done prior to girls becoming sexually active. In the United States and Europe, cervical cancer vaccinations are administered from age nine.

But in the UAE, she said the age to administer the vaccine has to be different from the age requirement in Western countries because the rate of exposure to the virus was different.

"In the UAE, girls have late exposure. They are virgins when they get married. We can't give them the vaccines at the age of eight," she said. "Maybe we will [vaccinate] them at age 15 or 16, same as the German measles vaccination," Dr Muna added.

According to ministry statistics, cervical cancer rate in the UAE is low. However, data on the disease is sketchy, as they are compiled from detected cases registered at Tawam Hospital in Al Ain.

Dr Muna said getting accurate data on HPV-exposure and cervical cancer, and increasing community awareness were important before deciding when to vaccinate the girls.

"We have already implemented a screening programme at primary healthcare centres in Sharjah. Inshallah, we will do the same in other emirates in the next few months, and we will get the data from there," she said.

Few options

Cervical cancer is the second most common killer cancer of women, according to the World Health Organisation.

Available vaccines against the virus are Gardasil by Merck, Sharpe and Dohme, and Cervarix by GlaxoSmithKline.

By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
Published: December 15, 2007, 00:38

UAE, first country in the Middle East to introduce vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer

The UAE is the first country in the Middle East to acquire the vaccine, through approvals from the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Professor Ian Frazer, Director of the University of Queensland's Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research (CICR), Australia, has been announced as a potential candidate for the Noble Prize Awards, due to his recent creation of the first and only vaccine against cervical cancer - Gardasil. Gardasil, which is distributed by Merck Sharp & Dohme, is now available in over 33 countries around the world.

'We are proud to have placed the UAE on the map with leading countries such as the US, Australia and EU to approve Gardasil, the first breakthrough vaccine that prevents cancer' said Dr. Wisam Haddadin, Franchise Manger, Gulf Region, Merck Sharp & Dohme.

'We hope to partner with health institutions to educate females on ways to prevent Cervical Cancer, which is the second leading cancer among women worldwide'.

Cervical cancer is primarily caused by HPV (Human Papilloma Virus) infection. Approximately 2.3 million women are currently diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide and 800 women die daily due to cervical cancers. The annual average of reported cervical cancer cases in UAE has tripled in 2005 compared to reported cases from 1998 to 2004 (Source: Cancer Registry Program).

Following the steps of many leading countries, Australia have recently announced the inclusion of Gardasil in its National Immunization Program (NIP). Gardasil will be administered to all females, 12 to 13-year-old girls will be vaccinated through schools from as early as April next 2007. The Government will also fund a two-year catch-up program for 13 to 18-year-old girls in schools and 18 to 26-year-old women to be delivered through GPs.

'I'm delighted the Federal Government has decided to adopt the recommendation of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee (PBAC), to implement a comprehensive program for introduction of the HPV vaccine that Dr Jian Zhou and I helped develop to prevent cervical cancer,' said Professor Frazer, Director of the University of Queensland's Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research. 'I'm pleased that the appropriate processes have been followed in reaching this decision. The government's decision, combined with an ongoing cervical cancer-screening program, will be a significant step towards further reduction of cervical cancer risk for Australian women.'

Professor Frazer and his late research partner, Dr Jian Zhou who passed away before Gardasil was made public, have been working on the creation of the vaccine for almost two decades, before receiving approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) in June of 2006.