DNAprint Genomics (DNAG)

[fatboy22]

The estimate comes from the federal government's ongoing National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which provides the clearest snapshot of the American population's health through dozens of measurements, lab tests and survey questions.

The new findings, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, are likely to further encourage use of a vaccine against HPV approved in June by the Food and Drug Administration for girls and women ages 9 to 26.

Its maker, Merck & Co., until recently was lobbying state legislatures to mandate vaccination of middle school girls - a step that more than 18 states, including Florida, are moving toward.

There are dozens of strains of HPV, but only some can lead to cancer. Two - HPV-16 and HPV-18 - are responsible for about 70 percent of cervical cancers. The vaccine protects against both, plus two strains that cause genital warts.