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Catholic Church Attacks Vaccine Certain to Prevent Cancer

Posted on: Saturday, 8 October 2005, 12:00 CDT

By ALAN MACDERMID

ANNOUNCEMENT of a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer yesterday opened a gulf between health professionals and the Catholic Church.

The church expressed concern after it emerged the vaccine, aimed at halting infection by the human papillomavirus (HPV), could be given to girls as young as 10. The church said it was likely to encourage premature sexual activity, with the problems this brought.

Cancer experts said the success of the vaccine could ultimately spell the end of a disease which kills more than 1100 women in the UK every year, making it the second biggest killer after breast cancer forwomen aged 15 to 44.

Gardasil, which was found to be 100per cent effective in trials, could be available within a year, but it has to be administered before the infection is picked up. It is designed to protect against two strains of HPV, 16 and 18, that trigger 70per cent of cervical cancers, but also acts against strains 6 and 11, which cause genital warts.

Dr Syed Ahmed, consultant in public health medicine at Greater Glasgow NHS, said:

"The vaccine has to be given before the child is sexually active, because the infection is transmitted sexually . . . But it is simplistic to say that because you have been vaccinated against one of these diseases you are going to go off and become sexually active."

However, Peter Kearney, spokesman for the Catholic Church in Scotland, said there were clearly dangers in the mass medication scenario.

He said: "One of these concerns would be that it could lead to the sexualisation of a generation of 10 to 13-yearolds, the fear being that a vaccination like this could be construed as a green light to any form of sexual activity."

Source: Herald, The; Glasgow (UK)

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