Researchers are creating a nasal spray that would prevent humanpapillomavirus, the most common sexually transmitted infection and a cause of cervical cancer, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Further research is needed to determine if the vaccine will be effective on humans, and it has only been tested on mice at this point, the study’s lead researcher and John Hopkins University professor Richard Roden said.
“There are aspects of the vaccine that may need to be improved,” he said.
“People can have different immune systems. We don’t know if this vaccine will be recognized by various immune systems.”
Gardasil, the only available HPV vaccine on the market, is administered with three injections and costs between $300 and $500. If proven effective on humans, the nasal spray vaccine would make immunization less expensive because it would eliminate the cost of syringes and needles and would make the product more accessible.
Roden said 80 percent of cervical cancer cases are in developing countries, where people cannot afford Gardasil. The vaccine is only effective against four strains of the virus, however, and the driving force behind the research is to create an immunization that could guard against all strains of the virus, he said.
“There are new vaccines on the market for preventing HPV and cervical cancer, but they don’t cover all of the strains. We are looking for an alternative that would protect from all strains,” Roden said.
College of Arts and Sciences freshman Sarah Fred said she is skeptical of the effectiveness of a nasal spray vaccine.
“I wouldn’t trust a nasal spray vaccine,” Fred said. “It would be nice to have an alternative to the painful shots, but maybe a pill would be better.”
Though College of Communication freshman Jackie Reiss said the injection she received was painful, she would prefer it to a less familiar vaccination method.
“[Gardasil] was the worst shot of my life,” she said. “But I would still choose a shot over a nasal spray. It seems more reliable.
