Vaccination for several variants of the human papillomavirus (HPV) is underway with pharmaceutical giant Merck's new vaccine, Gardasil. The approval of Gardasil has been greeted by mainstream medicine with unbridled enthusiasm. Another drug company has a similar vaccine in the approval stage.

Merck's marketing campaign, which promotes the vaccine for females aged nine to 26 as a way to prevent cervical cancer, included attempts to have HPV vaccination made mandatory for school attendance in as many US states as possible-a move that understandably raised considerable vocal opposition. In some casees, the adopted or proposed legislation allows parents to opt out for reasons much more general than those in the case of the commonly mandated vaccinations.

In January 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons was among those who raised concerns of the absence of safety data in the drug company's target population, which is girls aged 11 to 12. The association questioned the wisdom of immunizing girls against a disease that's now less prevalent in the US and that doesn't develop until later in life.

Parents, especially those with daughters in the targeted age group, need information on which to base their decision-information unbiased by the huge commercial interests involved. Such information isn't easy to come by. There are many unanswered questions and potential issues to consider. In the April 2007 Journal of Family Practice, Dr. Joseph De Soto raised some of the main concerns:

• There's no evidence that Gardasil is effective after five years.

• It's unknown whether this vaccine will cause autoimmune and neurological problems in the long term.

• The risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, appendicitis and gastroenteritis is at least doubled.

• The vaccine has not been adequately tested in girls under age 16.

There are other issues, as well. Gardasil, for example, is apparently ineffective in individuals already infected by HPV. Given that some 11- to 12-year-old girls are sexually active, a fraction of those in the suggested target group would be given presumably ineffective prophylactic vaccination.

Also, cervical cancer takes years to develop, which means that studies of the vaccine's effectiveness required a surrogate endpoint, in this case advanced cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN), a recognized precancerous condition. Thus, the ability of the vaccine to actually prevent cervical cancer 10 to 20 years down the road has not, and probably cannot, be demonstrated. In addition, since the vaccine does not target all variants of the HPV virus, vaccination doesn't eliminate the need for continued screening, which is already recommended.

Critics also point out that when screening reveals CIN, it is usually successfully treated, which brings into question the need for a vaccine in countries where periodic screening is widely practiced.

In regard to side effects, Judicial Watch (a public interest organization) recently obtained adverse reaction data from the US Food and Drug Administration by using the Freedom of Information Act. Three deaths, attributed to heart problems and/or blood clotting, were possibly associated with the vaccine. Also, of 42 women who received the vaccine while pregnant, 18 experienced side-effects ranging from spontaneous abortion to fetal abnormalities. Other side-effects include paralysis, Bell's palsy, Guillain-Barre syndrome and seizures.

William Ware, PhD, is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of Western Ontario in London whose retirement has been dedicated to evidence-based research in the preventive and complementary medicine field.

Reprinted with permission from: International Health News. Number 180, September 2007.
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Gardasil: The Naturopathic Perspective
Gardasil is a vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) that's manufactured by Merck & Co. and marketed as "anti-cancer." However, Canada has one of the lowest cervical cancer rates in the world.

In addition, 70 percent of women with HPV infection clear it spontaneously within one year, and 90 percent within two years. This means that even if a woman has a high-risk strain of HPV, there is a very good likelihood that her immune system will be able to resolve it naturally.

The risk of any cervical disease is greatly decreased with a yearly Pap smear and safe sexual practices. There is a concern that this vaccine will give women a false sense of security and decrease yearly Paps and safe sexual practices.

Other factors that increase the risk of cervical cancers include long-term oral contraceptive use, poverty, stress, smoking and nutritional deficiencies. Addressing these factors, irrespective of vaccination, is very important.

There are 15 different types of HPV that might cause cancer. Gardasil was developed to address only four types.

Source: Canadian Naturopathic Association www.cand.ca