01483 454 016
info@thesurreyparkclinic.co.uk
A new study finds that the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine protects not only against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer, but also helps prevent genital warts and low-grade cervical growths.
The findings are published in the July 21 online edition of BMJ. Health officials in the United States have been urging vaccination of young women and girls.
The researchers estimate that the virus causes an estimated 500,000 cases of cervical cancer in women each year around the world. The virus can also cause warts in the genital area and low-grade cervical growths. Those two conditions are thought to strike 30 million people annually.
In the just-released randomized control trial, researchers studied 17,622 women in 24 countries and territories who had been assigned to take the vaccine or a placebo over a six-month period. The women were aged 16 to 26.
In the big picture, the study authors wrote, the vaccine "provided strong and sustained protection" for four years against various types of warts and low-grade female genital growths.
Source: HealthDay News