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Electron micrograph of a negatively colored human papillomavirus (HPV), present in human warts. Credit: public domain
(HealthDay) -U.S. The approval of the Gardasil 9 Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine by the Food and Drug Administration has been extended to people between the ages of 27 and 45, the agency said in a press release.
Gardasil 9, approved in 2014 for ages 9 to 26, is the original Gardasil follow-up vaccine, approved in 2006 and no longer marketed in the United States. The updated vaccine is designed to prevent cancers and diseases caused by nine types of HPV.
According to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, some 14 million Americans are infected with HPV each year. Every year, approximately 12,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer caused by the virus and 4,000 women die each year as a result of the disease, reports the CDC.
"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have stated that HPV vaccination before being infected with the HPV types covered by the vaccine could prevent more than 90% of these cancers, or 31,200 cases. every year, "said Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research.
Gardasil 9 is also designed to prevent genital warts triggered by HPV in men and women, as well as precancerous vulvar, vaginal and cervical lesions in women, the FDA says.
The most commonly reported adverse reactions of the vaccine are: injection site pain, swelling, redness and headache.
Gardasil 9 is produced by a subsidiary of Merck & Co., based in Kenilworth, N.J.
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