Manitoba parents have to decide whether to vaccinate their 11- and 12-year-old daughters against a sexually transmitted virus linked to cervical cancer starting this fall.

On Thursday, the province announced it will spend $10.8 million over the next three years to vaccinate Grade 6 girls against human papillomavirus (HPV) in schools across Manitoba.
HPV is a sexually transmitted virus with more than 100 different strains. Most people who develop an HPV infection will clear it from their bodies naturally, but certain types can cause genital warts or cancer.

The vaccine guards against two types -- 16 and 18 -- that researchers believe are responsible for up to 70 per cent of cervical cancer cases.

The vaccine has been shrouded in controversy since it was approved by Health Canada. Researchers still have no idea when the immunity against HPV wears off and some critics believe mass promotion could lead some women to believe they're protected against other sexually transmitted diseases, like HIV.

Manitoba will follow Quebec, New Brunswick, British Columbia, and Ontario in offering Gardasil to school-aged girls. Immunization is voluntary, and parents will receive information about Gardasil so they can choose whether or not their daughter will opt out.

"This vaccine does not promise or pretend to prevent all cervical cancers," said Dr. Joel Kettner, the province's chief medical officer. "That risk still exists, it should be significantly reduced, but it's still going to be important for all women to be screened."
 

According to Cancer Care Manitoba, as many as 50 per cent of women in Manitoba do not have regular pap tests. About 45 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer in Manitoba each year, with 15 of them dying.

Kettner said the vaccine is not a replacement for regular pap screening, which can identify abnormal cells in the cervix.

However, he said researchers are confident in the Gardasil's efficacy and ongoing monitoring will determine whether there are any problems.

But critics are concerned why the government and the drug company that manufacturers Gardasil at a cost of about $400 is in such a hurry to do universal inoculations.

"This is not a public health emergency," said Madeline Boscoe, a founding member of the Canadian Women's Health Network. "The marketing campaign has created a culture of fear that isn't warranted."

Boscoe said no one has studied the incidence of HPV 16 and 18 in Manitoba, and the money would be better spent on HPV screening or better outreach to women who are reluctant or don't have access to pap tests. She pointed to a recent study in North Dakota that found HPV types 16 and 18 were found in the population less often than three other virus types known to be linked to cervical cancer that the vaccine doesn't protect against.

SOURCE : jen.skerritt@freepress.mb.ca