Brazilian cervical screening success:
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Brazil performed over 1.7 million Pap tests in the first three weeks of a national campaign to promote cervical screening. The health ministry hopes that the "great success" of its provisional uptake results will be reflected in the state of Rio de Janeiro, where the initiative is due to run for a month until June 7. The campaign aims to screen 2.5 million women aged 35-49 who have not been tested in the last three years (see Clinica No 1001, p 13). Over 23 million tests have been performed under Brazil's cervical screening programme, launched in 1997. Cervical cancer was recorded as the cause of some 16,300 deaths in 2001.