Gardasil
Gardasil is a vaccine that helps protect against the following diseases caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV) types in the vaccine(6,11,16 and 18):
- Cervical cancer (cancer of lower end of the uterus)
- Abnormal and precancerous cervical lesions
- Abnormal and precancerous vaginal lesions
- Abnormal and precancerous vulvar lesions
- Genital warts
Gardasil helps prevent these diseases but it does not treat them. Gardasil does not protect against diseases due to non-vaccine HPV types. There are more than 100 HPV types; Gardasil helps protect against 4 types (6,11,16,and 18). These four types have been selected for Gardasil because they cause approximately 70% of cervical cancers and 90% of genital warts. Gardasil is meant for women between the ages of 9 and 26.
Gardasil is given in three doses. The second dose should be two months after the first dose and the third dose should be six months after the first dose.
Additional information on the HPV virus