GIVE LOVE NOT HPV

An article in today's Brisbane Times trumpets the following headline: Queensland researcher sets Australia up to be first country to eliminate cervical cancer. The article then begins with:

Experts predict Australia is likely to become the first country to effectively eliminate cervical cancer, with the eradication expected in the next 40 years.

Professor Ian Frazer, who is attached to the University of Queensland, created Gardasil, the vaccine for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) which causes about 99.9 per cent of cervical cancers.

The mention of the word "experts" arouses suspicion. Who are these experts? Are 99.9% of cervical cancers really caused by HPV? Mention is made of some recent research:

According to research recently published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, there's been a dramatic decline in the rates of HPV, which has been attributed to the effectiveness of Gardasil. 

The research paper is not identified in the news article that then goes on to mention that the International Papillomavirus Society (IPVS) had issued a statement saying that it believed cervical cancer could soon be eliminated as a public health problem. The IPVS is described as being made up of the world's leading cervical cancer and HPV researchers, including Professor Suzanne Garland from Victoria's Royal Women's Hospital and the University of Melbourne, who advises the WHO and global policymakers on cervical cancer prevention and screening. It is Garland who makes the claim that:

Australia would likely be the first country to achieve the milestone of cervical cancer eradication. "We are forecasting that over the next 30-40 years, rates of cervical cancer will drop from around the current 1000 cases a year in Australia to just a few".

So what exactly are the facts? An unnamed research article claims that somewhere in the world a study had indicated that there's been a dramatic decline in the rates of HPV. It's a bit of a stretch to forecast on the basis of that research that cervical cancer rates will drop dramatically in the next 30 to 40 years. Of course, Garland hastens to add that this will only happen if vaccinations continue.

The statistic is quoted that among Australian women aged 18 to 24, the HPV rate dropped from 22.7 per cent to just 1.1 per cent during the past 10 years. Before the vaccinations, almost all sexually active people had contracted HPV.

This of course means that only a little more than 22.7% of Australian women aged 18 to 24 were sexually active ten years ago because almost all sexually active people had contracted HIV. This is an absurd statistic but it's quoted by an expert so you'd better believe it. Of course, the old line is trotted out that the benefits of the vaccine far outweigh any dangers.

The statistic that struck me was that there only 1000 cases of cervical cancer a year in Australia. Considering that there are about 12.2 million females, that's a ratio of 1:12,200. Of course females younger than 15 are not likely to be at risk of this type of cancer. In 2017, the under-15s comprised 18.8% of the population and so that leaves a little under 10 million females aged 15 and above. That's still only a ratio of 1:10,000 and yet there's a determined effort to get every adolescent girl in Australia vaccinated. That's over 2 million girls based on 2017 figures. Of course, adolescent boys are encouraged to get vaccinated as well and together this cohort would total around 4 million.

That's requires a lot of Gardasil and a lot of money for Big Pharma. Let's forget screening. Garland wants increasing screening rates as well as increased vaccination rates for millions of females in Australia alone, regardless of the rest of the world. HPV is a cash cow for the medical and pharmaceutical industry and looks set to remain so as the fear-mongering about HPV shows no sign of abating.

So what are the facts about HPV? This 2005 article from The Body sheds some light on the matter:

There may be more than 100 kinds of HPV variants, with a few strongly linked to the development of cervical and anal cancer. Because the transmission of these worrisome kinds of HPV are associated with sex, the fight against the virus is becoming increasingly fraught with all of the fears, myths and misinformation that now accompanies any public health response to sexual issues in the United States. With two new vaccines against HPV on the horizon, there are emerging concerns that these weapons may not be effectively deployed due to moral and political objections. HPV infection is the most common sexually transmitted disease in the United States. Over 5 million cases are thought to occur each year, with half of all women between the ages 18 to 22 having vaginal infections at some point. The anal infection rate in young gay men is higher still. Infection occurs through skin-to-skin contact -- including areas not covered by condoms -- and warts need not be present for transmission to occur. Most infections are transient and are cleared by the immune system. Of the 40 or so types of HPV that infect the genital and anal regions, those that cause genital warts are deemed "low-risk" whereas those linked to cancer of the cervix or anus are termed "high risk." Types 16 and 18 are the most common high-risk varieties. Most HIV-negative people -- and 90 percent of women -- clear HPV infections within two years, but infections with types 16 and 18 seem to last longer. Studies have consistently found that persistent infection with varieties such as 16 and 18 are a necessary precondition for the development of precancerous lesions. Those who clear the virus are out of danger.

The same article explains that there are two vaccines available: Gardasil from Merck and Cervarix from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). However, as of 2016 GSK seems to have ceded the market to Merck and its 9-valent human papillomavirus vaccine (Gardasil 9), which protects against infection from HPV types 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. It is recommended that children and adolescents between 9 and 14 years receive two doses of this vaccine and in 2015, about 63% of US girls and about 50% of boys received at least one dose. Not surprisingly, Merck initiated a direct-to-consumer ad campaign to encourage parents to have their children vaccinated (article). Current price of a dose is US $116.22 (link). Merck has no competitors in the HPV vaccine marketplace, it has both a monopoly and the endorsement of all the officially sanctioned oncological organisations in the world. In Australia, if all the two million females on their way to adulthood have two doses, that would represent over US $450 billion dollars in sales. If the boys could be signed on as well, that's getting close to a trillion dollars. Some governments will offset the cost of the vaccinations for children and adolescents (at taxpayers expense) but Merck will still reap the rewards.

If potential sales in a small country like Australia can total close to a trillion dollars then the potential sales worldwide are nothing short of staggering. The resulting influence that Merck can exert on the medical establishment and governments around the world is terrifying and explains why Gardasil will not be disappearing from the marketplace anytime soon. In the United States at least, lawmakers have granted the pharmaceutical industry immunity from prosecution for any ill-effects of vaccines so in the case of Gardasil Merck does not even have to worry about litigation from those harmed by it. The government quietly takes care of that side of things (at taxpayers expense) and often does make payment to the victims of vaccinations (on condition that they keep their mouths shut).

Merck as a company is not concerned with the future health of adolescents. However, the parents of these adolescents are concerned with the future health of their children and preying on this concern is the key to a successful marketing campaign. Firstly, identify a virus such as HPV that has been implicated in the development of a life threatening illness (in this case, the adult onset of cervical cancer, possibly acquired in late adolescence via sexual activity). Secondly, exaggerate the threat that this virus poses to the health of adolescents who become infected. The formula HPV = CERVICAL CANCER works just fine in the same way that HIV = AIDS once used to. Thirdly, develop a vaccine and then get the Medical Mafia and Big Government to endorse it (usually a formality). Lastly, aggressively promote the benefits of the vaccine to brain-washed medical professionals and, via advertising, to brain-dead sheeple. If some parents are reluctant to subject their children to the vaccine, then a stick must be used in place of the carrot. Some countries now are punishing parents financially by withdrawing child support benefits and excluding the children from school if they don't vaccinate their children. This hasn't happened yet with Gardasil but it might.

Here is a link to the Australian Standard Vaccination Schedule with an excerpt shown below: