19/09/2025
HPV Vaccine
These days, there is a lot of discussion about the HPV vaccine. I would like to draw your attention to another disease that occurs in children who acquire HPV infection from their mother during childbirth.
Juvenile Onset Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis (JORRP)
This is a disease caused by Human Papillomavirus, particularly types 6 and 11. Mothers infected with HPV can transmit this infection to their babies during delivery.
In this condition, children (mostly under 12 years of age) develop small growths (papillomas) in the throat and on the vocal cords.
🔹 Symptoms:
Hoarseness or rough voice
Weak cry in infants
Whistling sound while breathing (stridor)
Repeated breathing difficulties
In severe cases, risk of airway obstruction and respiratory arrest
🔹 Treatment:
Often requires repeated surgeries to remove these papillomas because they tend to grow back.
🔹 Prevention:
The HPV vaccine (especially quadrivalent or 9-valent) covers HPV-6 and 11, so in the future, cases of JORRP in children may significantly decrease. If this vaccine is given to women before marriage or sexual contact, it reduces HPV infection in the mother, thereby lowering the risk of transmitting the virus during childbirth → which reduces the chances of JORRP in children.
Some research has shown that in countries where HPV vaccination rates are high, the incidence of JORRP has decreased.
Thus, the HPV vaccine is not only effective in protecting women against cervical cancer, but it can also protect children of HPV-positive mothers from this life-threatening disease.