Protect yourself from certain STI’s by being vaccinated
Alongside our samedaydoctor, Canary Wharf travel vaccination centre, we offer advice on vaccinations to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STI’s). The main vaccinations in this group is Gardasil for HPV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis A.
Gardasil vaccination
This preventative vaccine has been in use for several years now. It prevents infection with 4 of the most common types of Human Papilloma Virus (6, 11, 16 and 18). The HPV virus is one of the most common STI’s and affects a large proportion of sexually active people. Most cases of genital warts are attributed to type 6 and 11, whilst type 16 and 18 are implicated in most cervical cancers.
Ideally most people should be vaccinated with this vaccine before they become sexually active, although in practice this is unlikely.
Why a Gardasil vaccination is recommended
We still recommend vaccination even if you are already sexually active. Research has shown that the body is generally good at getting rid of this virus, if it is given a chance to clear the infection. This depends on your immune system being strong enough to clear the virus. It is estimated that most people with a healthy immune system should get rid of the virus within around 18 months.
If you have problems with your immune system, such as say HIV positive people, or in smokers, the body is less successful at clearing the virus. The other problem is reinfection. If you and your partner both have the virus, reinfection can occur every time you have sex and therefore it is very difficult for your body to clear the virus.
It is important to note that just being diagnosed with HPV doesn’t mean that you will automatically get cervical or anal cancer. The problem is when you have a persistent HPV infection over many years. We also know that the risk increases if you have more than one aggressive type of HPV. Hence the reason we suggest vaccination, even if you already have one of the strains, as this should protect you from acquiring new strains and therefore reduce your risk of developing complications in the future.
We are able to vaccinate both women and men as long as you have no contra indications to the vaccination. The course consists of a series of three injections over 6 months. At the moment a booster is not needed but this is still being evaluated further. We do not have to do HPV type testing before vaccination, although it is useful to do this if you have had any abnormal smears in the past or gets contact bleeding during sex
Knowledge is power and if you know that you have an aggressive strain we would recommend more close monitoring and depending on any changes in the cervix or anus we might advised more regular smears to pick up progression of the disease so that treatment can be initiated earlier.
Unfortunately, Gardasil doesn’t treat the infection if you already have it but as mentioned it should protect you from acquiring a new type that would make clearance even harder.
Hepatitis B Vaccination
Hepatitis B is a serious and often chronic infection that can cause serious damage to the liver in people who cannot clear the virus, leading to scarring of the liver cirrhosis and in some cases liver cancer and or failure.
It is easily passed on through sexual intercourse and is passed on through contact with semen, vaginal fluids, blood and even saliva. It is much more infectious that HIV and can stay alive for longer outside the body and on surfaces. There are very few symptoms after infection and most people are diagnosed incidentally through routine sti screening
We recommend the vaccination for:
- men who have sex with men
- sex workers
- healthcare workers
- people involved in contacts sports
- police
- anybody who in the course of their job might come into contact with bodily fluids.
The vaccination is not live, so there is no risk of getting the disease from it and as with most vaccinations the side effects are usually minimal.
The ideal course is:
- 3 injections over a 6 month period as we think this will give the longest protection.
- After the initial 3 injections we would do an immunity check about 6 weeks after to confirm the level of immunity.
- Healthcare workers and anybody at higher risk needs to have a higher level of immunity.
If you are a good responder to the first set of injections it is possible that you only need boosting doses every 10-20 years. If you are a poor responder or non-responder we will assess your level of risk and decide with you if we should do a booster or start the vaccination from scratch.
Hepatitis A vaccination
Hepatitis A (link to hep A) is an acute illness that can be quite debilitating. It causes inflammation of the liver with symptoms such as extreme fatigue and jaundice (yellow skin).
It is mainly spread through poor food hygiene and sanitation but can also be passed on through sexual contact.
We recommend vaccination for:
- Men who have sex with men or anyone whose sexual practices involve oral- anal contact (rimming)
- Travellers to developing countries
- Close contacts of someone who has hepatitis A
- People with chronic Liver disease
- People who might be at risk through work exposure
- Injecting drug users
A simple blood test can tell you whether this is the case. Hepatitis A vaccination is given in 2 doses. If you do the second dose within 6-12 months of the first it should give you protection for 10- 20 years.