Comparison of the Natural History of Genital HPV Infection among Men by Country: Brazil, Mexico, and the United States.

Background: Male genital human papillomavirus (HPV) prevalence and incidence has been reported to vary by geographical location. Our objective was to assess the natural history of genital HPV by country among men with a median of 48 months of follow-up.Methods: Men ages 18-70 years were recruited from United States (n = 1,326), Mexico (n = 1,349), and Brazil (n = 1,410). Genital specimens were collected every 6 months and HPV genotyping identified 37 HPV genotypes. Prevalence of HPV was compared between the three countries using the Fisher exact test. Incidence rates and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The median time to HPV clearance among men with an incident infection was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method.Results: The prevalence and incidence of the genital HPV types known to cause disease in males (HPV 16 and 6) was significantly higher among men from Brazil than men from Mexico. Prevalence and incidence of those genital HPV types in the United States varied between being comparable with those of Mexico or Brazil. Although genital HPV16 duration was significantly longer in Brazil (P = 0.04) compared with Mexico and the United States, HPV6 duration was shortest in Brazil (P = 0.03) compared with Mexico and the United States.Conclusions: Men in Brazil and Mexico often have similar, if not higher prevalence of HPV compared with men from the United States.Impact: Currently, there is no routine screening for genital HPV among males and while HPV is common in men, and most naturally clear the infection, a proportion of men do develop HPV-related diseases. Men may benefit from gender-neutral vaccine policies. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 26(7); 1043-52. ©2017 AACR.

Paving pathways: Brazil’s implementation of a national human papillomavirus immunization campaign / Allanando el camino: implementación de una campaña nacional de vacunación contra el virus del papiloma humano en Brasil

In 2014, Brazil introduced an HPV immunization program for girls 9–13 years of age as part of the Unified Health System’s (SUS) National Immunization Program. The first doses were administered in March 2014; the second ones, in September 2014. In less than 3 months more than 3 million girls received the first dose of quadrivalent HPV vaccine, surpassing the target rate of 80%. This paper examines three elements that may influence the program’s long-term success in Brazil: sustaining effective outreach, managing a large tech¬nology-transfer collaboration, and developing an electronic immunization registry, with a focus on the State of São Paulo. If these three factors are managed, the Government of Brazil is primed to serve as a model of success for other countries interested in implementing a national HPV vaccination program to decrease HPV-related morbidity and mortality.

En el 2014, se introdujo en Brasil un programa de vacunación contra los VPH dirigido a niñas de 9 a 13 años de edad como parte del Programa Nacional de Vacunación del Sistema Unificado de Salud (SUS). Las primeras dosis se administraron en marzo del 2014; las segundas, en septiembre del 2014. En menos de tres meses, más de tres millones de niñas recibieron la primera dosis de vacuna tetravalente contra los VPH, superando la tasa prevista de 80%. En este artículo se analizan tres elementos que pueden influir en el éxito a largo plazo del programa en Brasil: el mantenimiento de actividades de extensión eficaces, la administración de una amplia colaboración en materia de transferencia de tecnología, y la creación de un registro electrónico de vacunaciones, con hincapié en el Estado de São Paulo. Si se gestionan estos tres factores, el Gobierno de Brasil está dispuesto a servir como modelo exitoso a otros países interesados en introducir un programa nacional de vacunación contra los VPH con objeto de disminuir la morbilidad y la mortalidad relacionadas con los VPH.