In a new announcement, the Scottish Government has revealed that a new vaccine will be used for protecting teenage girls against the human papilloma virus (HPV), which causes cervical cancer and genital warts.

While teenage girls are currently being administered the Cervarix vaccine to protect them against the virus, they will now be vaccinated with Gardasil, with effect from the new school term which will commence this week.

Gardasil is apparently a more protective vaccine against the HPV virus because it protects against four strains of the virus, in comparison to two strains against which Cervarix offers protection. Another advantage linked to the use of Gardasil is that it can also protect against genital warts.

Two of the HPV strains which Gardasil offers protection cause almost 70 percent of the cervical cancer cases in the UK; while the other two strains cause nearly 90 percent of genital warts cases. As such, after a procurement exercise carried out by the Department of Health on behalf of the four UK Health Departments, it has been decided that the new vaccine will now be used across the UK.

Noting that the programme to vaccinate teenage girls against the HPV virus was initiated in 2008 chiefly with the aim of protecting them against cervical cancer, Scotland's Chief Medical Officer Sir Harry Burns said that the fact the new Gardasil vaccine also protects against genital warts is "an added benefit."