[Human papillomavirus type 18 - In memoriam].

Abstract

HPV 18 caused 19  percent of all cervical cancer cases in Sweden, in particular adenocarcinomas. High vaccination coverages are required to eliminate the most oncogenic HPV types like HPV 16 and HPV 18, while medium-oncogenic viruses such as HPV 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 are easier to eliminate due to their lower reproduction number. Women born 1994-1998 were offered catch-up vaccination against HPV 16 and HPV 18 at ages 13-18, but only about 55 percent participated, which is insufficient to eliminate these viruses. Offering vaccination against HPV 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58 to women born in 1994-1998 and achieving around 70 percent participation should eliminate the medium-oncogenic viruses and achieve population immunity also for HPV 16/18. A national project offering free vaccines and screening against these HPV types is ongoing since 2021. Already at the start of the project, there was only a single case of HPV 18 in age groups with high vaccination coverage, implying that extinction of this virus is imminent.