Monash Joins Cervical Cancer Fight
29 March 2007
Young women in the City of Monash will benefit from a new national immunisation program that is expected to dramatically reduce cervical cancer.
A Human Papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine called Gardasil ® will now be made available to all secondary school girls and young women aged between 12 - 26 years.
The HPV vaccine is an Australian discovery by Professor Ian Frazer, from the University of Queensland's Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, who was named Australian of the Year in 2006.
Final trials of the Gardasil ® vaccine found it to be nearly 100% effective against HPV, a sexually transmitted disease, which causes approximately 70 - 80% of cervical cancers.
Since the introduction of routine Pap tests and a national screening program, the number of deaths from cervical cancer annually has more than halved. Unlike other cancers, a HPV virus through genital skin contact spreads cervical cancer. Currently four out of five women will have HPV at some time in their lives.
The vaccine will be made available to girls aged 12 - 18 years as part of the school immunisation program conducted by Monash City Council. It will be initially offered to girls in Years 7, 10, 11 & 12 in 2007. Students in Years 8 & 9 in 2007 will be offered the vaccine in 2008. The vaccine will then become part of the routine school immunisation schedule and will be offered to students in Year 7 annually.
Gardasil ® vaccine is given in three doses at 0, 1-2 and 4-6 month intervals.
"To receive the free immunisation course, school girls will need to obtain parental consent. Consent forms for the HPV vaccine and permission to record immunisation data for a national database are currently being distributed through City of Monash schools," Cr Morrissey said.
The vaccine will also be free for women aged between 18 - 26 years from July this year and is available through their GP.
Published: 29 March 2007
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