What is it that some parents don't understand about the HPV vaccine, licensed last summer in hopes of preventing most cases of genital warts and cervical cancer?
That infections with human papillomavirus, or HPV, are the most common sexually transmitted diseases?
That there is no treatment for HPV infections?
That cervical cancer is the most serious sexually transmitted disease caused by this virus?
That 70 percent of cases of cervical cancer arise because of two variants of the virus that the new vaccine protects against?
That 90 percent of genital herpes cases are caused by two other variants of the virus that are countered by the vaccine?
That most people infected with HPV do not know it, yet can transmit the virus to an unsuspecting sexual partner?
That 20 percent of American girls 14 to 19 are infected, and the vaccine works only if administered before women contract the viral variants it is intended to prevent?
Despite these facts, the vaccine, sold by Merck as Gardasil, has been mired in controversy, and many parents remain wary about using it for the girls and young women it was meant to protect.
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