In a survey of 1,600 women only 2.5% cited human papillomavirus as a risk factor for cervical cancer.

Researchers said the results, published in the British Journal of Cancer, were “striking” considering recent publicity over the development of a HPV vaccine.

Experts said the public needed to be better informed before widespread vaccination was introduced.

There are over 100 different types of HPV and they are the most common sexually transmitted disease.

Around 80% of sexually active women can expect to have an HPV infection at some point in their lives.

Two vaccines have been developed – Gardasil and Cervarix – which have been shown to be very effective against the strains most commonly linked with cervical cancer.

In June, government advisors recommended girls aged between 12 and 13 in the UK should be vaccinated against the HPV.

It has also been suggested that HPV testing should play a part in cervical screening.

The disease kills 1,120 women in the UK every year.

One in four women ages 14 to 59 is infected with HPV, the sexually transmitted virus that in some forms can cause cervical cancer, according to the first broad national estimate.

The figure, reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is mostly in line with previous assessments. “We expected the prevalence of any HPV infection would be high, and that’s what we found,” said Dr. Eileen Dunne, the lead author.

Just 3.4 percent of the women studied had infections with one of the four human papillomavirus strains that a new vaccine protects against. But that does not mean the vaccine should be written off, said Dr. Yvonne Collins, an assistant professor of gynecologic cancer at the University of Illinois at Chicago. She pointed out that that percentage represents about three million women.

The number of women with HPV strains covered by the vaccine was lower than in other estimates. The overall HPV prevalence among the youngest women studied, 14- to 24-year-olds, was substantially higher than in previous estimates, 7.5 million versus 4.6 million.

Women ages 20 to 24 had the highest overall HPV prevalence in the study, 44.8 percent. Prevalence increased each year from ages 14 to 24, then dropped off gradually, confirming that young, sexually active women face the greatest risk.

The report is to appear on Wednesday in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Merck, maker of the cervical cancer vaccine Gardasil, is backing off its lobbying campaign following pressure from medical groups and parents who believe the vaccine should not be mandated as a school attendance requirement for adolescent girls.

The public outcry that caused Merck to announce its stop order on Tuesday stems from the fact that the vaccine protects against the sexually transmitted human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer. School-mandated vaccines are typically for diseases spread through casual contact, such as measles and mumps.

Merck’s medical director for vaccines, Dr. Richard M. Haupt says, “We’re concerned that our role in supporting school requirements is a distraction from that goal, and as such have suspended our lobbying efforts,” adding that the company will continue providing information about the vaccine upon request.

Gardasil, launched in June and the first vaccine to prevent cervical cancer, has inspired controversy since day one. There’s the cost — $360 for three required shots — and all sorts of insurance concerns and conservative groups who worry the vaccine encourages premarital sex and interferes with parental rights. Even those in support of the vaccine — like the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Practitioners — question Merck’s quick push to market this drug, especially in light of the company’s withdrawn painkiller Vioxx.

“I believe that their timing was a little bit premature so soon after (Gardasil’s) release, before we have a picture of whether there are going to be any untoward side effects,” says Dr. Anne Francis, who chairs an American Academy of Pediatrics committee.

Legislatures in 20 states have taken steps to mandate the vaccine for young girls. And with the exception of Texas governor Rick Perry’s February 2 executive order requiring Texas girls entering the sixth grade in 2008 get vaccinated, nothing has been made official so far.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s decision to require all pre-teen girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus (HPV) that is one cause for cervical cancer has drawn fire from conservative political groups, parents and consumer advocates.

HPV is a sexually transmitted virus and requiring 11-year-olds to be vaccinated the same way they get shots for measles and other diseases is jarring. Add to that the political intrigue: It turns out that Mr. Perry’s former chief of staff is a lobbyist for Merck & Co., the only manufacturer of the drug that has been shown to prevent the virus — Gardasil.

Do pre-teen girls to have this vaccine promote premarital sex?

Conservative groups think inoculating little girls against sexually transmitted disease is a tacit acceptance — or encouragement — of immoral behavior. But right-wingers aren’t the only ones concerned.

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Right in September 2008, eleven and twelve year-old girls in Texas, entering the sixth grade will receive three shots of the Gardasil vaccine used to prevent cervical cancer.

Texas is the first state to require that young schoolgirls receive the cervical cancer vaccine, approved for use by the FDA in June and proven to protect against the most common strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV) — the cause of most cervical cases cervical cancers.

Texas governor Rick Perry (R), who just signed an executive order making this mandate official, believes the high cost of treating diseases and ensuring the health and well-being of our population justifies the vaccine requirement.

Gardasil drugmaker Merck stands to make billions if the vaccine is made mandatory across the country. The series of three necessary shots cost $360.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is the first country in the Middle East to acquire the cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil.

Comparisons of cervical cancer statistics for the years 1998 through 2005 show incidences of the disease tripling during this span of time. So acquisition of the vaccine is a true blessing for the women of this country.

“We are proud to have placed the UAE on the map with leading countries such as the US, Australia and EU by approving Gardasil, the first breakthrough vaccine that prevents the cancer,” said Dr Wisam Haddadin, Franchise Manager, Gulf Region, Merck Sharp & Dohme.

Gardasil, distributed by Merck, Sharp, & Dohme, is now available in more than 33 countries for the prevention of cervical cancer, most commonly caused by HPV (human papilloma virus). About 2.3 million women are currently diagnosed with cervical cancer worldwide. About 800 women die of the disease every day.

Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard said that Australia will spend $342 million USD on Merck and Co.’s Gardasil vaccine which can protect against 70 percent of cervical cancer in young women.

Australia had recently been in talks with distributor CSL Ltd. to bring down the price. The company readily agreed to cut down the prices by 27 percent.

PM Howard further added “Gardasil will be available for a nationwide vaccination campaign commencing next year. This remarkable Australian drug can be made cheaply available to women.”

Australia is all geared up to launch this unique wonder vaccine, free of cost for women aged between 12 and 26.

According to a new research, Women who smoke and also carry high levels of the virus associated with cervical cancer are up to 27 times more likely to develop the most common form of cervical cancer compared with uninfected women who also smoke.

Smoking and the human papilloma virus (HPV) have been linked to cervical cancer before. But the new study is the first to look at a possible interplay between heavy smoking and virus levels, said study author Anthony Gunnell, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

“The risk for developing pre-malignant cervical cancer increases as HPV load increases,” Gunnell said. “Importantly though, it increases more with increasing HPV (levels) if you smoke than if you don’t.”

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Under a new proposed law, sixth grade girls of Michigan State are required to be vaccinated against cervical cancer. The proposed law would require girls headed for sixth grade next year to be immunized against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes most cervical cancers and can also cause genital warts.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 9,700 women will be diagnosed with cervical cancer this year, and that more than a third of those cases will be fatal. Cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer in the number of diagnoses made every year. The vaccine, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in June, was shown to be 100 percent effective against HPV.

Doctors say it works best if administered before girls are sexually active.

New Zealand women will have access to the world’s first vaccine for cervical cancer from today. Gardasil has been registered by Medsafe as a vaccine for all girls and women aged nine to 26.

The course of three injections costs 450 U.S. dollars and has not yet been approved for inclusion in the government-funded schedule of childhood vaccinations. It is designed to prevent cervical cancer caused by certain types of the sexually transmitted Papillomavirus. Gardasil, the first vaccine against cervical cancer, is considered to be highly effective against four types of the human papilloma virus, including two that cause about 70 percent of cervical cancers. On an average, around 180 New Zealand women are diagnosed with cervical cancer each year and one third of them succumbs to the cancer.

The fact that Gardasil is available for girls as young as nine has caused controversy in Australia and America with politicians calling for a debate on its social implications.