Wave of Support for HPV Vaccination of Girls

The virus at the root of the suffering is rife throughout the population, with 20 million Americans ages 15 to 49 infected. HPV is transmitted through sexual activity or other intimate contact, although most people's bodies fight it off without their even knowing they had the virus. There is no treatment.

Cervical cancer results when certain high-risk types of the virus trigger abnormal cell growth. The vaccine, Gardasil, was tested on more than 11,000 girls and women worldwide. It proved to be 100 percent effective against two of the most prevalent high-risk types, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

No side effects were seen in the trials, other than a slight soreness at the site of the injection. Given the vaccine's newness, the length of protection the shot offers is unclear.

In June, the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended that the HPV vaccine be administered routinely to girls 11 and 12 and to women as old as 26. It is most effective when given before a first sexual contact.

Joseph Zanga, professor of pediatrics at East Carolina University's Brody School of Medicine, favors the vaccine for girls who plan to be sexually active. But "mandating is the wrong approach to this issue," he said.

"If a kid with measles is sitting in a classroom, he or she is going to infect many other classmates. A kid with HPV infects no one other than one she might have sex with," he said. "We're not protecting the public health in the same way that we protect public health when we require measles vaccine."

Virginia Del. Phillip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News), sponsor of a bill that would mandate HPV inoculation for middle school children, disagrees.

"This is not a prevention for a sexually transmitted disease. This is a prevention for cancer," he said. "And if a vaccine can eliminate even one case of that, I think it's a worthwhile initiative."

HPV vaccination can be administered along with other inoculations and does not need to initiate a major parent-child discussion about sex, he said.

The Michigan doctor who led the HPV panel that prepared the federal recommendation made the same point.

"The reality is, many children get shots and they don't ask what they're for," said Janet Gilsdorf, director of pediatric infectious diseases and immunology at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children's Hospital.

She supports making vaccination as universal as possible. "No question that school mandates increase vaccine uptake," she said.

Staff writers Lisa Rein, Michael E. Ruane and Nikita Stewart contributed to this report.