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Vaccination for Contraception
Author(s) -
Jones Warren R.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1994.tb01082.x
Subject(s) - vaccination , family planning , medicine , developing country , developed country , birth control , pregnancy , population , family medicine , environmental health , immunology , economic growth , research methodology , biology , economics , genetics
Summary: Vaccination for birth control has several advantages over currently available methods of family planning and should prove an attractive addition to the contraceptive armamentarium both in developing countries and in a developed country such as Australia. Concerns have been voiced by consumer health advocates that vaccines, like other long acting contraceptive methods, may be abused by health authorities in developing countries and by their use in vulnerable groups such as aborigines in our own country. These concerns need to be recognised and addressed. More difficult to accomodate are the anxieties expressed by feminist groups about the ‘loss of control’ and ‘lack of body awareness’ inherent in a method, such as a vaccine, that is relatively easily administered and has no overt side effects. There is no evidence that these concerns are shared by women in general. The antifertility vaccine that will most likely be applied first in family planning programmes is one directed against the pregnancy hormone hCG. A WHO vaccine directed against the C‐terminal peptide of beta‐hCG provokes a specific and safe immune response and will enter Phase 2 trials in Sweden this year. Subsequent developments with this vaccine will include the replacement of the current emulsion vehicle by a delivery system based on biodegradeable microspheres which will give a more sustained antigen release and duration of effectiveness.