Hpv

The HPV vaccine can help prevent cervical cancer.

Men can be infected with HPV.

Kenyan authorities have begun a mass vaccination of girls against the human papilloma virus, HPV, which causes cervical cancer.

Kenya officially launched its HPV vaccination program Friday in the coastal town of Mombasa.

"Access to the HPV vaccine by our girls will lead to the reduction of number of new cervical cancer cases and secure lives of our daughters and sisters," he said.

What's the difference between HPV and HIV?

Dr. Villa and colleagues have developed a vaccine that kept 90 percent of young women from becoming infected with four types of HPV virus. The vaccine protected 100 percent of the women who became infected with the virus against the development of genital warts, a condition that often leads to cervical cancer, and abnormal cervical lesions, another precursor to cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer starts when a woman contracts the sexually-transmitted human papilloma virus, or HPV. Only about ten percent of women with HPV will develop cancer. But for women who are less likely to get routine pap smears, Ogilvie says testing for HPV can help identify those who may be at risk for cancer.

Vaccination against some HPV strains can drastically decrease cervical cancer risk.

Men who lost out on the HPV vaccine while in school will now be able to avail of it free up to the age of 22 years under an expanded roll out from next Tuesday.