Impact of Human Papillomavirus Vaccination, Rwanda and Bhutan

Aim: Based on the results of previously performed baseline urine surveys among high-school female students in Rwanda and Bhutan, the aim of this study was to quantify HPV prevalence in repeated surveys, comparing it with the baseline HPV prevalence to estimate population-level impact of HPV vaccination in both countries.

Affiliations: International Agency for Research on Cancer; Ministry of Health of Rwanda; Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital; University of Antwerp; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Centro di Riferimento Oncologico

Summary: In Rwanda, 912 participants from baseline surveys and 1,087 from repeat surveys were included, and in Bhutan, 973 participants from baseline surveys and 909 from repeat surveys were included. The overall effectiveness against vaccine-targeted HPV types (i.e., HPV-6/11/16/18) was 78% in Rwanda, and 88% in Bhutan and against other α-9 types was 58% in Rwanda and 63% in Bhutan. These findings provide direct evidence from low- and middle-income countries of the marked effectiveness of high-coverage school-based, national HPV vaccination programs.