Papillomavirus vaccine (anti-HPV) and multiple sclerosis: what are the risks?

The papillomavirus vaccine: protection against cervical cancer

Why get vaccinated against papillomavirus?

THE human papillomavirus (HPV) sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are very commonly contracted infections. In fact, 8 out of 10 people are exposed to it during their lifetime. Benign, this condition sometimes progresses into cervical cancer in women. According to Santé Publique France, each year, around 3,000 women develop this cancer in France, with 1,000 deaths to be deplored every year. Furthermore, more than 6,000 cancers are linked to HPV viruses each year, including one in four in men.

Why do you have to be a virgin for this vaccination (women, men)?

There vaccination against HPV viruses has been recommended for young girls from the age of 11 since 2007. For boys, it has been recommended since January 2021. Free vaccination campaigns have been organized in colleges since 2023.

Transmission occurs through sexual contact and condoms only offer partial protection against HPV viruses. According to studies, in 60% of cases, infection occurs at the beginning of sexual life. This is why it is best to get vaccinated before you start having sex.

Young men participate in the transmission of viruses; vaccination therefore indirectly protects women from potentially cancerous lesions.

There vaccinationif carried out at the right time and under the right conditions, provides close to 100% effectiveness against HPV viruses.

What are the side effects (frequent, serious, etc.) of the papillomavirus vaccine?

THE most common side effects are pain at the injection site as well as local reactions (redness, swelling). Fever, joint and muscle pain appear in 1 to 10% of cases (out of 100 vaccinated people). More rarely, allergic reactions may occur (1 case in 450,000 vaccinated people). Serious allergic reactions are very rare. Certain other adverse effects, including some cases of discomfort, have been reported. This is why monitoring for 15 minutes after receiving the vaccine is essential.

Anti-HPV vaccination and multiple sclerosis: what is the link?

The study, carried out by Danish researchers from the Statens Serum Institut, focused on Danish and Swedish girls and women aged 10 to 44. The cohort was followed from 2006 to 2013. During this period, 789,082 participants were vaccinated against papillomavirus. In this group, 4,322 cases of multiple sclerosis and 3,300 cases of demyelinating diseases have been reported: 73 cases of MS and 90 cases of demyelinating diseases appeared during the so-called “at risk” period (i.e. two years after vaccination).

After analyzing the data, the authors of the study established no link between the HPV vaccine and the increase in cases of multiple sclerosis or demyelinating diseases. “The results of our study go against studies and experts who claim that there is a cause and effect link between anti-HPV vaccine and demyelinating diseases. The large cohort and the choice of participants which was not made according to precise criteria make it possible to generalize these results on a large scale,” the researchers conclude.

A complaint filed against Gardasil © in 2013

Like the hepatitis B vaccine, and more generally vaccines containing aluminum-based adjuvants, the Gardasil © vaccine is suspected by some of being the cause of cases of multiple sclerosis. Several complaints have been filed in France against the Sanofi Pasteur MSD laboratory which markets this vaccine. Marie-Océane is one of the complainants.

Vaccinated in 2010 at the age of 15, the young girl developed multiple sclerosis a few months after the Gardasil injection. An expert report carried out by several doctors concludes “that there is no scientific argument in favor of the incrimination of Gardasil as a causal factor for inflammatory demyelinating pathologies of the central nervous system”. But they add that in this young girl with a family history of multiple sclerosis, “the post-vaccination demyelinating inflammatory cascade which affected the person concerned presents all the objective characteristics of medico-legal imputability”. Consequently, “they assess the total attributability of vaccination to the damage at 50%”. In November 2013, then aged 18, the young girl filed a complaint against the Sanofi Pasteur MSD laboratory for “involuntary attack on the integrity of the human person“.

The benefit/risk ratio of the vaccine remains favorable

Following these complaints, the Sanofi Pasteur MSD laboratory is clarifying the monitoring data post-registration which show that there is no increase in the occurrence of autoimmune diseases after the vaccination by Gardasil ©. An update published by the National Medicines Safety Agency (ANSM) goes in the same direction and recalls that the benefit/risk ratio of this vaccine remains favorable.

Furthermore, data from the SNIIRAM (National Health Insurance Inter-regime Information System), covering a cohort of nearly 2 million young girls born between 1992 and 1996 and followed over a period from 2008 to 2010 , confirm these results: “the rate of appearance of autoimmune diseases observed in vaccinated people did not differ from that observed in unvaccinated people”.

What setbacks on the HPV vaccine: cancers avoided and lives saved thanks to vaccination

We now have more than ten years of hindsight on this vaccine and studies have been carried out to observe its effects. Already in 2017, it was noted a net decrease in new cases of precancerous lesions in young women English and Australian. HPV vaccination has been shown to reduce the number of people with genital warts.

In 2019, more than 60 million vaccinated women were followed (up to 8 years after vaccination). The results show effectiveness on HPV 16/18 viruses, but also on precancerous lesions.

The latest studies from 2020 indicate that a Early vaccination prevents 9 out of 10 cancers in young girls.

THE human papillomavirus are responsible for more than half of cervical cancers. In its opinion of March 20, 2013, the High Authority of Health (HAS) “considers that the medical benefit provided by this vaccine is significant in the population recommended by the High Council of Public Health in the vaccination schedule in force.” The ANSM also recalls that vaccines against papillomavirus are subject to increased surveillance.