Cancer-Causing Sex Virus Cut in Teen Girls by Vaccines
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A vaccine for human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer, is proving so successful that the top U.S. disease specialist is pushing to inoculate an entire generation of teenage girls.
Cases of certain HPV strains have plunged 56 percent among females 14 years old to 19 years old since the first vaccine, Merck & Co.’s Gardasil, was introduced in 2006, according to an article yesterday in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. The shot is 82 percent effective against the virus that can cause cervical cancer if at least one of the three doses is given.