A new study reveals that the number of genital wart cases being reported in Australia has significantly decreased-a decline that is being attributed to the human papillomavirus, or HPV, vaccination.
The country launched a HPV injection campaign five years ago, encouraging girls between the ages of 12 and 26 to receive the injection.
And since the initiative was started in 2007, Australia has seen genital warts cases drop by 59 percent within just the first two years of its installation.
Ninety percent of genital warts cases originate from HPV and its not just females who are receiving protection from the vaccination campaign, men are reaping the benefits as well and is explained by experts as a phenomenon known as "herd immunity"---when a specific segment of the population protects an unvaccinated segment of the population.
And even more to this point, the nation has seen a drop in genital warts cases among heterosexual men of 39 percent within the same timeframe of the study.
"All indications are that the program has been an overwhelming success," said Dr. Basil Donovan, the study's author and the head of the sexual health program at the Kirby Institute of the University of New South Wales in Sydney.
"But we won't be certain until HPV-related cancers [also] start dropping."
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control identify cervical, penile, anal and throat cancers as being associated with HPV.
Researchers analyzed data from eight sexual health service organizations from 2004 to 2011 for the study that was published in the journal BMJ.