HPV or human papillomavirus is one of the most common groups of related viruses that cause warts and different type of cancers. In the US, it is also the most common infection that can be transmitted sexually or through skin-to-skin contact. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that there are about 6.2 million Americans who get infected by the virus yearly.

For women, HPV infection pose greater risk as it is a major risk factor for cervical cancer, the second most common cancer affecting women. In the United States alone, 3,700 women of 9,710 women diagnosed with cervical cancer each year die because of HPV infection.

The good news is a new vaccine that fights HPV will soon be available fore American women. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approves Gardasil, the first vaccine against HPV-caused cervical cancer. Experts say that “the vaccine is safe and is highly effective” in fighting against infection of two types of HPV that account for 70 % of all cases of cervical cancers in the world. The said vaccine is approved to be used by women from 9 to 26 years old.

By guest writer Khristine