Human papillomavirus related cervical cancer and anticipated vaccination challenges in Ethiopia

Cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Ethiopia. This may be due to the high prevalence of high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) genotypes in the population. So far, few studies have been done that showed the presence of HR-HPV genotypes. The HR-HPV-16, -18, -52, -56, -31 and -58 were the most common genotypes reported in Ethiopia. The introduction of HPV vaccines in Ethiopia is likely to go a long way in reducing cervical cancer deaths. However, there are few challenges to the introduction of the vaccines. The target population for HPV vaccination is at the moment not well-defined. Besides, the current HPV vaccines confer only type-specific (HPV-16 and -18) immunity, leaving a small proportion of Ethiopian women unprotected against other HR-HPV genotypes such as 52, 56, 31 and 58. Thus, future HPV vaccines such as the nanovalent vaccine may be more useful to Ethiopia as they will protect women against more genotypes.