Clinical Infectious Diseases
Volume 53 Issue 8 October 15, 2011
http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/cid/current

Correspondence
Human Papillomavirus Vaccination Programs and Human Immunodeficiency Virus Epidemics
Seema Yasmin, David J. Gerberry, and Sally Blower

TO THE EDITOR—In a recent article, Tracy et al [ 1] use mathematical modeling to predict the potential impact of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programs in developing countries; HPV is the primary causative agent for cervical cancer. The analysis is timely, given the recent announcement that Rwanda will soon launch Africa’s first HPV vaccination program [ 2]. Tracy and colleagues focused on challenges associated with HPV vaccination in Mali (eg, female circumcision, marriage at younger ages, polygamy, cultural and economic factors), but they did not assess the potential effect of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) on HPV vaccination programs.

Rwanda and many other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have a significant burden of HPV and HIV. HIV infection increases a woman’s susceptibility to HPV infection, boosts the chances that infection is from high-risk subtypes …