Brazil's health officials said on Wednesday that the country is studying the possibility of launching a campaign to vaccinate Brazilian women against the human papiloma virus (HPV).

The Brazilian government will test the new Gardasil vaccine, which treats the HPV, before implementing the measure. The HPV causes 70 percent of the country's uterine cancer cases, said Luiz Antonio Santini, director of Brazil's National Cancer Institute.

Health officials estimate that 50 percent of the sexually active women in Brazil have the virus.

Santini said the tests will start as soon as the vaccine obtains approval from the National Sanitary Vigilance Agency (Anvisa) for sale in Brazil, which will reportedly happen in a few months.

"The vaccine is a great step forward," said Santini. "For the first time we will be able to prevent one type of cancer." Brazil's health authorities will conduct a study to find out what types of HPV are most common in different regions of the country before they start any campaign.

"We have to establish which regions need the vaccine and why. We also need to know the age of the women who will be most benefited from the vaccine," said Santini.

The price of the medicine is also an issue. In the United States where the vaccine has already been approved for sale, each dose of the vaccine is sold for 120 U.S. dollars. Patients have to receive three doses of the vaccination to make it effective. Health officials believe the price will fall after the medicine is put into large production, but now the vaccine is considered too expensive.

Source: Xinhua