What does nine-valent mean?

Nine-valent refers to the nine-valent vaccine in the cervical cancer vaccine, which is used to prevent cervical cancer caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The nine-valent vaccine mainly includes nine virus subtypes of HPV subtypes 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52 and 58. Among them, HPV16, HPV18, HPV31 and HPV33 are high-risk HPV viruses, and high-risk HPV virus infection is a common factor causing cervical cancer. While HPV6 and HPV11 are low-risk HPV viruses, infection with low-risk HPV viruses may lead to warts and other diseases. In addition, the nine-valent HPV vaccine should be used for women between the ages of 16 and 26 and can prevent 90% of cervical cancers, so it is the preferred HPV vaccine for young women, who need to follow the doctor’s instructions for vaccination.