Civil Surgeon Dr. Sahir Pal discussing with doctors in the Civil Surgeon office premises located at Parsudih.
Jagran correspondent, Jamshedpur. The government has taken a big initiative towards preventing the rapidly increasing cervical cancer among women. Now the vaccine to protect against Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) will be made available free of cost.
The same vaccine, which costs around Rs 10,000 in the market, will now be given free of cost to adolescent girls of 14 years of age through the government health system. As part of this preparation, a one-day training camp for doctors was organized on Friday at the Civil Surgeon Office premises in Parsudih.
Civil Surgeon Dr. Sahir Pal presided over the camp. Experts from Ranchi gave detailed information about HPV infection, its side effects and the vaccination process to all the medical officials of East Singhbhum district. Officials said that by January 25, the training of all the doctors, ANMs, Sahiyas and other related health workers in the district will be completed, so that the vaccination campaign can be conducted effectively at the grassroots level.
What is cervical cancer?
Cervical cancer is cancer that occurs in the cervix of women. Its main cause is considered to be HPV infection, which is often spread through unprotected sexual contact.
Its symptoms are not obvious in the initial stage, due to which the disease is detected late. If not identified and treated in time, this cancer can prove fatal.
How big a threat is HPV?
Civil Surgeon Dr. Sahir Pal said that HPV can cause at least six types of cancer. More than 90 percent of these cases are related to cervical and anal cancer.
He said that sometimes HPV infection occurs without any symptoms and the infected person can unknowingly spread the virus to others. Trainer Ratish Kumar Majhi, State Technical Officer, Ranchi, who came from the state headquarters, said that most of the HPV infections go away on their own due to the body's immunity, but in some cases this infection later turns into cancer. In such a situation, vaccination is the safest and most effective preventive measure.
How serious is the situation in India?
Every year in India, new cases of cervical cancer are reported in more than 1.20 lakh women, while about 75 thousand women die due to this disease.
Health experts believe that if all eligible adolescent girls are given the HPV vaccine on time, the number of these deaths can be significantly reduced in the future.
Australia has included HPV vaccination in the national program. After this, there was a rapid decline in the cases of cervical cancer. Experts predict that Australia could reach near-elimination of cervical cancer in the coming years.
District RCH Officer Dr. Ranjit Kumar Panda said that on any symptom related to HPV, one should consult a trained doctor instead of searching for treatment through AI, Google or the Internet. Many lives can be saved with the right treatment at the right time.