Vaccinate 11-year-old girls against cervical cancer: U.S. panel

Girls as young as 11 should be routinely vaccinated against a sexually transmitted virus, a U.S. government advisory panel recommended Thursday.

Experts say the vaccine Gardasil, made by Merck & Co., should be given to children before they become sexually active.

The vaccine protects againstmost types of human papilloma virus, or HPV, that cause cervical cancer and genital warts.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted 13-0 to recommend the vaccine for girls and women between 11 and 26 and for women who have had abnormal Pap smears, genital warts or certain other conditions.

Two of the panel's members abstained from voting because they worked on Merck-funded research.

Federal health officials usually accept the committee's recommendations, which affect insurance coverage for vaccinations.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration licensed the vaccine for women aged nine to 26 years.

Health Canada is also looking at approving the vaccine for use in Canada, where this year nearly 1,400 new cases of cervical cancer are expected and 390 women will die from the disease.

Since the vaccine doesn't protect against all strains of HPV, experts say women would still need to get a Pap test to screen for the virus.

Several speakers at a public comment session also called for immunization of boys, since HPV has been linked to a rare penile cancer.

Merck said clinical trials on the vaccine's effectiveness in males should be done by 2008.