The
US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first vaccine,
Gardasil, against human papillomavirus (HPV), which causes Cervical
Cancer. This will not be available to women for
a few years, but could save thousands of lives and may end the need for
smear tests, once available. The vaccine would be given to girls prior to
them becoming sexually active. Trials have shown that this vaccine can
offer 100% protection against strains of HPV related to about 70% of
cervical cancers.
According
to the World Health Organization, Cervical cancer kills more than 288,000
women worldwide each year, and is on the rise if nothing is done about
it.
HPV
is a very common sexually transmitted virus. Most people who have ever had
sex, both men and women, have been infected at some point in their lives.
Most people never even know they've had HPV because the virus usually
doesn't cause any symptoms and the body is able to fight it off easily.
The
vaccine, Gardasil, only targets 4 HPV types. There are as many as 100
strains of the virus. Also, Gardasil only works if a woman has not been
infected with one of these HPV types. High risk HPV types, strains 16, 18,
and 31 and 33 have been found in close to 100% of all cervical
cancers.
The
FDA has approved the vaccine in women ages 9-26. Now that the vaccine is
FDA-approved, a separate federal panel will decide what the immunization
schedule should be. This is not for sale as of yet.