World 1st cervical cancer vaccine

The course of three injections costs 450 U.S. dollars and has not yet been approved for inclusion in the government-funded schedule of childhood vaccinations.

Research shows the vaccine protects women from the cancer-causing effects of some types of the human papilloma

virus (HPV).

A Health Ministry committee is assessing whether to add Gardasil to the schedule, along with other vaccinations designed to protect against chicken pox, rotavirus, pneumococcal disease and types of meningococcal disease other than the B strain.

HPV is believed to cause about 50 percent of cancers in the genital track skin -- from the anus to the cervix in women and penis in men -- and significantly contribute to cancers of the throat, tonsils and mouth, said Ian Frazer, one of the experts who worked on the HPV vaccine.

Gardasil, the first vaccine against cervical cancer, is considered to be highly effective against four types of the human papilloma virus, including two that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers.

In June, the U.S. government approved a series of three shots of Gardasil, to be given over a six-month period, for females

( note: it is useful to give vaccination to male to prevent spread of virus and also pretect male population)