Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41055194›Full record

ArticleAfrican journal of primary health care & family medicine2025

Expanding the case for gender-neutral human papillomavirus vaccination in South Africa: Emerging neonatal and ethical considerations.

Vanessa C Scheepers, Jillian Gardner

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in African journal of primary health care & family medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Vanessa C ScheepersSchool of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Bellville. vscheepers@sun.ac.za.
Jillian Gardner

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is widely recognised for its role in causing cervical cancer, prompting many countries, including South Africa, to prioritise girls in school-based vaccination programmes. This short report presents an exploratory case for expanding HPV vaccination to adolescent boys as well, drawing on emerging, but still limited evidence of maternal and paternal HPV transmission to neonates. Although current data on neonatal risks are preliminary, the possibility of vertical transmission and associations with respiratory papillomatosis, preterm birth and fertility issues warrant further investigation. Beyond neonatal outcomes, gender-neutral HPV vaccination offers ethical and public health benefits by promoting equitable protection, enhancing herd immunity and addressing transmission dynamics. Recent advances, including the World Health Organization-endorsed single-dose schedules and the availability of affordable vaccines, provide opportunities to revisit cost-effectiveness analyses. We recommend further context-specific research and modelling to quantify the long-term benefits of gender-neutral strategies in South Africa and similar settings.

Indexed as

Papillomavirus InfectionsPapillomavirus VaccinesVaccinationAdolescentFemaleHuman Papillomavirus VirusesHumansInfant, NewbornInfectious Disease Transmission, VerticalMaleSouth AfricaUterine Cervical NeoplasmsPapillomavirus Vaccinesethical concernsgender-neutral vaccinationhuman papillomavirusmaternal transmissionneonatal outcomespaternal transmission

Identifiers

PMID41055194
PMCPMC12506826

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.