Malaysia to offer free cervical cancer vaccination next year

Tue, 23 Mar 2010

Kuala Lumpur - Malaysia's Health Ministry is to begin offering free human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccinations to 13-year-old girls next year in a bid to reduce the number of cervical cancer cases, the official Bernama news agency said Tuesday.

The free vaccination is due to be offered to roughly 300,000 13-year-old girls by the middle of 2011, and is to cost the government about 150 million ringgit (45.1 million dollars), Deputy Health Minister Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin, said.

Rosnah told Parliament on Tuesday that the vaccination would hopefully reduce cases of cervical cancer and genital warts, adding that studies had shown that teenage girls under the age of 15 had a better immunity response compared with older girls or women.

HPV is a common virus that is passed on through genital contact during sexual intercourse and is a known cause of cervical cancer.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315367,malaysia-to-offer-free-cervical-cancer-vaccination-next-year.html.