Among a host of other diseases, HPV immunisation aims to protect young people from HPV infection and the risk of developing cervical cancer.

Women who practise a religion are also less likely to know about or have had the HPV vaccine available to 11 and 12 year-olds. Besides HPV, the vaccine guards against several different types of cancer.

The study found compared to women who didn't practise a religion, those who did were nearly 60 percent less likely to know about the vaccine and about half as likely to have received at least one dose.

Senior author of the survey, Deanna Kepka, says while religious girls may be less likely to receive the vaccine, or may perceive themselves as having less risk, she says she "wouldn't expect them to be less informed about the vaccine."

The women surveyed were between the ages 18 to 26.

Survey responses were returned by 148 women who practiced an organised religion and 178 women who said they weren't religious.

About 97 percent of non-religious women said they had heard of HPV, compared to about 90 percent of religious women.

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The infection usually resolves on its own without causing health problems, but it can lead to cancer and genital warts if it doesn't clear up.

HPV infections can cause cervical, vulva, vagina, penis, anus, throat and other cancers.

Source

• Reuters
• Image: woman 2 woman

The Japanese government's decision is the result of 1,968 reported cases of possible side effects, 43 of which have been examined by a health ministry task force. Since 2010, 3.28 million Japanese women have received the human papillomavirus vaccination.

In the United States, on the other hand, there's good news with virus thought to be half as common as it used to be, despite only about a third of young women receiving the full vaccine course of three shots.

So, what are we to make of the vaccine? Here are answers to four common questions about it, based on a research paper I recently published with two co-authors.

Does the vaccine prevent infection with the virus?

Both the human papillomavirus vaccines (Gardasil and Cervarix) have been shown to reduce the virus infection rate by over 90%. This reduction is maintained for at least five years.

The catch (and there's always a catch) is that for the vaccine to be this effective, it has to be given to people who have not been exposed to the virus.

This is why the vaccine is given to 12 to 13-year-olds in Australia and 14 to 19-year-olds in the United States.

Will the vaccine cause a rise in other HPV types?

The human papillomavirus vaccines available in Australia target two (types 16 and 18) of the 15 high-risk virus strains associated with cancer.

Questions have been asked about whether one or more of the remaining 13 cancer-causing virus types will become more common to "fill the gap" left by their reduction. Continue reading

Sources

• The Conversation
• Image: Women's Health