Nationwide vaccination programme for 12 to 18-year-olds aimed at preventing cervical cancer is attracting the attention of older women as well, says an Otago District Health Board member.
The immunisation programme, which starts in September, will offer free vaccines against human papillomavirus to all girls in the 12 to 18 year age group.
Most cases of cervical cancer are caused by the virus.
Women outside the 18 year cut-off age were expressing an interest in paying for the vaccination themselves, said Community and Public Health Advisory Committee member Branko Sijnja at a meeting this week.
"What I sense out there from personal anecdotal evidence is that the older age group will be interested in participating in [the vaccination programme]."
A small number of women had already paid for the $450 vaccination, the Balclutha GP said after the meeting.
The vaccination can protect against two types of human papillomavirus which cause seven out of 10 cervical cancers, provided a person has not already been infected.
The virus is spread through genital contact.
University of Otago professor of preventive and social medicine Charlotte Paul said for women older than 18 it would not be sensible to have the vaccine unless they had not yet had sex.
"If you are already infected it is not going to help. The reason for focusing on young girls is simply to protect women before they become infected."
The virus was relatively common and widespread, and there was only a small chance sexually active older women would not have been infected already, Prof Paul said.
Cervical screening should prevent most pre-cancerous abnormalities in older women, she said.
