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Naaman Zhou at The Guardian writes that Australia's free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme in schools has been highly successful. The International Papillomavirus Society calculates that within 40 years, the number of new cases of cervical cancer will become nearly negligible.
HPV (human papillomavirus) is a sexually transmitted infection that causes 99.9% of cervical cancers. In 2007, the federal government began providing the vaccine for free to girls aged 12-13 years, and in 2013, it extended the program to boys.
Girls and boys outside those ages but under 19 can also access two doses of the vaccine for free. In 2016, 78.6% of 15-year old girls and 72.9% of 15-year old boys had been vaccinated.
As a result, the HPV rate among women aged 18 to 24 dropped from 22.7% to 1.1% between 2005 and 2015.
Eradication is still a few decades out but within reach. The vaccinations are backed up by more advanced cervical screening tests, which are themselves highly successful in detecting high-risk HPV infections before they turn really bad.
Source : Australia could become first country to eradicate cervical cancer. The Guardian
(Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Tuesday March 06 2018, @07:28PM (3 children)
Their ultimate survival seems to depend on how successful they are at eradicating cancers, mass shootings and coal deposits, when every living thing in their natural environment is trying to kill them.
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 06 2018, @07:53PM
You're just a soft yank. After enough crocodile bites you become immune.
(Score: 2) by ilPapa on Tuesday March 06 2018, @09:53PM (1 child)
I was in Australia back in the early 2000s. I was presenting at a conference at one of their major universities. I was invited out for a drink after one of the sessions, and I was taken to a biker bar. They was some prodigious drinking going on and I asked if the place was safe. My colleague pointed to a particularly rough group, one of which (and I'm not making this up) had a tattoo on his shaved head. "See those guys?" he said, "That's the philosophy department". Apparently, there was an assistant dean who was not in attendance because he had been eight-sixed for fighting. I believe I contracted alcohol poisoning that night and I had to wear very dark sunglasses through all the next day's sessions.
Having said that, I did not encounter any of the very deadly wildlife in Australia (not counting the Philosophy department). However, in the past few months, I have learned that in Australia there are 1) spiders that eat birds and 2) birds big enough to eat kangaroos. Until they get that under control, I don't expect to be traveling to Australia again.
You are still welcome on my lawn.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 07 2018, @04:14AM
It's fair to say it's under control, at least in the cities!