A company called Tamir Biotechnology has announced test results confirming that two comppunds have shown "excellent in vitro antiviral activity and no cellular toxicity at dose levels tested for HPV."
The testing they did was using the HPV type 11 strain, which together with the type 6 strain is responsible for 90% of genital and anal warts.
The scientist performing the test said the results were in the top 1 or 2 percent he has seen for testing of HPV type 11.
You can find out more here.
The link between the HPV virus and cervical cancer is something that has been well established and talked about a lot. What is less well known is that the HPV virus can also cause anal cancer.
Out of 602 gay men 3% of them who had received Gardasil developed anal cancer or anal lesions compared to 12% who had received a placebo.
While anal cancer is relatively rare, it does hit about 5000 Americans a year, and out of those 90% of the cases as thought to be caused by the HPV virus.
You can read more about this here.
There is talk in the UK of combining a HPV test with the cervical screening programme. The current smear test removes cells from the cervix and tests them for precancerous changes. What is being proposed is that they are also tested for HPV.
As the various strains of the HPV virus are found in over 99% of all cases of cervical cancer this move would make a lot of sense.
There are a number of benefits to this approach.
It would help identify the women who are carrying the strains of the HPV virus that are known to develop into cancer, enabling these women to be watched and tested more carefully from then on.
It would also help by reducing the need for more frequent smear tests in other women, allowing resources to be focused where they are most needed.
GlaxoSmithKline have agreed a deal with BinnoPharm, a Moscow based company, to allow them to make and sell Cervarix, a vaccine which protects against HPV infections, that can cause cervical cancer.
"The local manufacture of these vaccines should help Russia to modernize its National Immunization Calendar in the future, adding additional vaccination against highly prevalent infections," the two firms said in a statement.
Read the full story in the Moscow Times.
VAERS reports indicate that the number of injuries and deaths related to Gardasil and Cervarix continues to rise, according to a report in ageofautism.com.
The VAERS (reports about adverse reactions) information is now being updated weekly for the HPV vaccines. As of 3rd November 2010 there are 20,575 reported adverse reactions, with 5 reported deaths!
