The New Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer

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New Vaccine against Cervical Cancer

According to the American cancer society , in the year 2008 , about 11 ,070 cases of invasive cervical cancer will be diagnosed in the United States (American Cancer Society . Close to a third of these women will succumb to cervical cancer making it to be one of the leading in cancer deaths . This indicates the magnanimity of the problem facing the society today , a problem that has become costly to address . An announcement made by experts in 2004 on

the possible invention of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer was treated with glee and huge expectations

Human Papillomavirus (HPV ) vaccine is aimed at the strains of the Papillomavirus that leads to cervical cancer . The raging controversy when this vaccine is mentioned is the insistence by the health experts that it can only be effective in women if it is introduced at a young age of below thirteen . The position of this , in spite of the recognition and appreciation of the gravity of cervical cancer , is that the HPV vaccine should not be given to young girls as it will create an impression that it is appropriate to engage in premarital sex

Vaccination against cervical cancer has become a sensitive issue with possible political ramifications to legislators that are likely to support its being mandatory . Most of the informed criticism being leveled on the vaccine centers on its inappropriateness when it is carried out against young girls . It is important to note that the raging opposition against the vaccine does not centre on its ability to prevent cervical cancer but at the perception and the image it is likely to send to the young , sexually and emotionally vulnerable girls (Gilham Matthews 48

Gardasil and Cervarix are such vaccines that are currently deeply embroiled in this controversy . Gardasil is a product of Merck that seeks to protect women from four strains of cervical cancer . These strains are 6 .11 , 16 , and 18 . For it to be effective , it has to be given to a person in a period stretching to 6 months . A carried out

Cervarix is a product of GlaxoSmithKline but its approval is still under consideration by the Food and Drugs Authority . Unlike Gardasil , it protects a woman against two strains only of Human Papillomavirus . These are 16 and 18 . It is also carried out in three injections spanning over a period of six months . One important point to note here is that the efficiency of these two drugs as far as protecting women against the various HPV types is yet to be fully ascertained . This is because of the existence of a high number of strains of HPV . This means that a third of all cervical cancer cases cannot be prevented . However , it is vital to point out that Gardasil has so far been approved by the FDA for being effective in arresting any infection on the strains that it targets (Lowy and Schiller 13

The argument being made...