A vaccine to prevent the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) strains that are responsible for most cases of cervical cancer and genital warts was approved for sale in the United States. It is officially approved for use on women who are from 9 to 26 years years old, and does not cure the virus if you have an active infection with the virus. For this reason, it is especially recommended for girls at age 9, because they are least likely to have already been infected with the virus.
The vaccine is only effective when given prior to infection with a particular strain of the HPV virus. However, women who have been infected with one strain of the virus will be protected against the other strains if they are vaccinated with the HPV vaccine.
About half the population becomes infected with HPV sometime during their lifetime, and most people who get the virus are able to fight it, but some women who get infected with HPV strains 16 or 18 get cervical cancer, and some who get infected with HPV strains 6 or 11 get genital warts. A small percentage of those who get these diseases get them from other strains of the HPV virus, and the vaccine does not give protection against those strains. For this reason, and to detect other disease conditions, it is recommended that women continue to get periodic pap tests at a frequency appropriate to their age and health status.
The vaccine was tested for safety on about 11 thousand people, and four placebo-controlled studies were done on about 21 thousand women to demonstrate that almost 100% women who got the vaccine did not get genital warts or precancerous cervical lesions, where the women who got the placebo vaccine (dummy vaccine) got these diseases about as frequently as the general population.
The vaccine, named Gardasil, is made by Merck, located in New Jersey. Although the vaccine is relatively expensive, with a list price of $120 per dose for each of three doses that must be given to provide immunity, Merck has promised to provide the vaccine at no charge for women who cannot afford it.
Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women, and is annually responsible for about 233 thousand deaths worldwide and about 3700 deaths in the United States.
For more information, see http://health-news-now.com/blog/33/33
