Gardasil, a human papillomavirus vaccine, will become a part of regular immunizations for German girls.
Some US conservatives are concerned that a vaccine that could save their daughter's life from a cancer-causing STD might encourage pre-marital sex. In liberal Germany, on the other hand, where the German Standing Vaccination Committee this week introduced the vaccination for teenage girls, citizens are just annoyed that they'll pay more for it than Americans.
The German Standing Vaccination Committee (STIKO) officially recommended Monday that all girls between the ages of 12 and 17 be immunized against human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause cervical cancer.
The three-dose vaccination cycle will cost about €500 ($667), and will be covered by German state insurance companies. Girls should receive their vaccinations before they become sexually active, which will be an opportunity to "round out" the list of other recommended immunisations, STIKO says. Though men can also carry HPV, STIKO has not recommended that boys be vaccinated.
There are more than 100 types and strains of HPV, ranging from those that cause warts on the hands and feet, to the more than 30 viruses that are transmitted sexually, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Around 14,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year in the US alone, according to the American Social Health Association, with over 5,000 women dying annually in the US from the disease.
The vaccine Gardasil, which is manufactured by Merck and Co., is the only one which has been approved for use so far and will be used in Germany. It protects against HPV types 16 and 18, which can cause cervical cancers, and types 6 and 11, which can cause genital warts. The UK pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKlein is also developing an HPV vaccine called Cervarix. However it has not yet been licensed in Europe or the US.
Other European countries are also adopting Gardasil. The vaccine went on sale in Italy on Wednesday. The Health Ministry says it will be offered free of charge to 12-year-old girls, but won't be mandatory. Older girls will have to pay for the vaccine themselves. France and Austria are also recommending that girls be vaccinated.
On average, 80 percent of women will have had a genital HPV infection by age 50, the CDC says. Most cases of HPV are asymptomatic and go undetected until they resolve themselves, or are diagnosed by an abnormal Pap test. While there is no cure for HPV, doctors can treat the effects of the infection, such as warts. The new vaccine, however, can prevent an infection from ever taking hold.
STIKO's recommendation is one in a new trend toward HPV prevention. In February, Texas, by executive order of the governor, became the first US state to require HPV vaccination for all girls entering the 6th grade in 2008. So far, 21 states have introduced legislation to make HPV vaccination compulsory in schools, while 39 states have introduced legislation to start educational campaigns concerning the immunization.
While the HPV vaccine has been controversial among conservatives in the US, who fear that immunizing young women against a sexually transmitted disease could encourage pre-marital sex and promiscuity, the Germans appear to be more concerned with practicalities.
The newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau reports that insurance companies and customers are irritated by the vaccine's high price tag. Sold for about €270 in the US, Cervarix costs €450 -- not including doctor's fees -- in Germany.
ap/reuters
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