Prevention of Cervical Cancer

Merck's New Cervical Cancer Vaccine Recommended by CDC for Vaccination of Girls and Women

03-Jul-2006

Merck & Co., Inc. announced that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC's) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted unanimously to recommend that girls and women 11 to 26 years old be vaccinated with GARDASIL® to prevent cervical cancer, precancerous and low-grade lesions, and genital warts caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) types 6, 11, 16 and 18.

GARDASIL is the only vaccine available in the U.S. for the prevention of HPV types 16- and 18-related cervical cancer. In the United States, approximately 10,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year, and an average of 10 women die each day from the disease.

The Committee recommended that GARDASIL be administered to 11- and 12- year-old females and to females aged 13 to 26 who have not previously been vaccinated, and that nine- and 10-year-old females can be vaccinated with GARDASIL at the discretion of their physicians. The ACIP stated that Pap and HPV screening prior to vaccination are not necessary. The ACIP also recommended that females can receive GARDASIL regardless of whether they have or previously had an abnormal Pap test, a positive HPV test or genital warts.

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