Lula signs law creating a national policy to combat HPV

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva signed into law Law 15.174 on Wednesday, the 23rd, creating the National Policy to Combat Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Infection . The law establishes a set of public health measures aimed at the prevention, detection, and treatment of HPV, a virus that affects the skin and mucous membranes and of which there are more than 200 types. The rule comes into force in October, 90 days after publication.

Among other points, the legislation mandates information campaigns, expanded access to care, and strengthened reporting and scientific research. The president vetoed a section that required serological testing to diagnose HPV.

In vetoing the section, the government argued that the test is not indicated for this purpose and, therefore, "is not part of the HPV diagnostic protocol." Furthermore, the government stated that the Unified Health System (SUS) already offers other types of diagnostic tests for the virus, such as biopsies, cytological tests, and molecular tests, also covered by the bill that gave rise to the new legislation.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world. Some types of the disease can cause genital warts, while others are associated with malignant tumors, such as cancer of the cervix, anus, penis, mouth, and throat.