European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control issues guidance for the introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines in European Union countries

Two prophylactic human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have been licensed in Europe: the quadrivalent vaccine, Gardasil® (Sanofi Pasteur MSD) and the bivalent vaccine, Cervarix® (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals) [1,2]. Both vaccines are made from virus-like particles and are non-infectious [3]. Both vaccines protect against the high-risk HPV types 16 and 18, which cause an estimated 73% of cervical cancer cases in Europe. Gardasil also protects against HPV 6 and 11, which cause most cases of genital warts. Both vaccines have a good safety profile. They have been shown to prevent more than 90% of precancerous lesions associated with types 16 or 18 among HPV naïve women in clinical trials [4]. .