UPDATE: UK Dept Of Health Recommends Cervical Cancer Vaccine
(This updates an article published at By
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES There are two vaccines currently available to protect against the human papilloma virus, which causes 99% of invasive cervical cancer. Gardasil, which was recommended by the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health Monday, is marketed by Sanofi Pasteur MSD, a joint venture between Sanofi-Pasteur SA and Sanofi-Pasteur welcomed the decision to approve the vaccine but said it was " surprised to see that girls will have to wait for more than a year before this will be implemented." The recommendation is subject to an independent review of cost benefits and will be made formally to government by the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation at its next meeting on Sanofi-Pasteur Director of Communications Arne Naeeke said that models looking at the impact of delaying vaccinations showed that the delayed vaccination of one cohort of girls "could result in 480 deaths of women, 1,500 cancer cases and 16,000 to 17,000 pre-cancerous lesions." He said that the U.K. was the ninth European country to issue a recommendation and would be "among the last countries in He said there was no mention of a catch-up program vaccinating older girls to make up for the delay. A spokeswoman for the U.K. Department of Health said the vaccine would protect against strains 16 and 18 of the human papilloma virus which cause cervical cancer and against strains 6 and 11 which cause genital warts. She said that no specific brand of vaccine was being recommended and a tender process would be carried out to determine which brand to use in due course. Company Web site: http://www.dh.gov.uk 