Vaccination against the sexually transmitted virus that causes cervical cancer should be compulsory for European schoolgirls aged 11 and 12, a leading medical journal has said.
The Lancetpublished an editorial calling for the vaccinations despite controversy over their use in children.
There have been claims that the jabs against a sexually transmitted infection could encourage under-age sex.
Last week the European Commission gave the go-ahead for the anti-cancer vaccine Gardasil to be used in EU member states. The licence allows the vaccine to be given to children aged nine to 15, and women aged 16 to 26.
Gardasil offers protection against human papillomavirus (HPV), a virus spread by sexual intercourse that can trigger cervical cancer.
The virus targets HPV types 16 and 18, which are responsible for nearly three quarters of cervical cancers. It also acts against types six and 11, the cause of about 90 per cent of genital warts.
The Lancetsaid Europe should take its lead from the US state of Michigan, which passed a bill on September 21st ruling that all 11 to 12-year-old sixth grade girls must be immunised.
PA