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Human Papillomavirus ( HPV ) Vaccine Prevents HPV Infection and Cervical Cancer

Vaccine to Prevent Cervical Cancer and HPV Infection

Merck and Co. have developed an experimental vaccine that is 100 percent effective in preventing cervical cancer. The new vaccine is called Gardasil and the FDA's vaccine advisory group voted unanimously in support of the vaccine.

The vaccine will be offered to both girls and boys, too, because boys can spread the virus to their partners when they become sexually active. The vaccine is intended to be used before you become sexually active. The vaccine will be given in three doses over a six month period.

The vaccine is significant because it is the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer and prevent a sexually transmitted disease called the human papilloma virus (HPV). Cervical cancer which is caused by the HPV sub-types 16 and 18 is one of the most common cancers that kill nearly 300,000 women each year. It is estimated that over 20 million Americans have one of the many sub strains of HPV. HPV is also known to cause painful genital warts called Condylomata Accuminata.

I find the new vaccine by Merck and Co extremely exciting, but I am cautiously optimistic until the results of the study have undergone extensive peer review. It would be a blessing to have a drug with 100 percent effective to prevent venereal warts, pre-cervical cancers, and noninvasive cervical cancers caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). It would be phenomenal for women if the study holds true.