new virus called Merkel cell polyomavirus or MCV, which is linked to a rare but lethal type of skin cancer, has been discovered by an American researcher. MCV, according to a study by the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute published Thursday, is the first virus to be associated with a specific type of cancer.

The cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC), mainly affects people with weak immune systems including AIDS patients and those who recently underwent transplant procedures. Nearly 1,500 cases of Merkel cancer are reported annually. Around 50 percent of the patients with advanced stages of the cancer survive for nine months only

Health Ministers announced on Thursday that beginning September 2008, schoolgirls in Britain aged 12 - 13 years old will be vaccinated against the virus that causes cervical cancer.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization added that it is increasing the catch-up age for its vaccination program for 16 years old to 18

Schoolgirls in England aged 12 to 13 will get vaccinated against a virus which causes cervical cancer from September 2008, the British government is to announce Friday.

Each schoolgirl will receive three injections over a course of six months

A study on women coinciding with the first anniversary of the first HPV vaccine being approved. Women say they know that Pap tests are important, are having them regularly, and rely on their doctors more than any other source for information to help them make health decisions.

The study conducted by Lake Research Partners for the American Social Health Association (ASHA)of 1,421 women ages 18 to 45 also finds that one in four uninsured women (24 percent) have not had a Pap test in the last three years, and Latinas are less aware than other women that HPV is sexually transmitted

A DNA-based screening test is more efficient at identifying the human papillomavirus (HPV) than the currently used method, the Pap test. The new test, which won't need a screening test as often, could soon replace the 50-year-old Pap in a matter of years, experts say.

In a new study conducted by McGill University in Montreal, both tests were conducted on more than 10,000 women between 30 and 69-years-old. The DNA test detected 94.6 percent of the abnormal growths that can lead to cervical cancer, while the Pap test found only 55.4 percent of the same growths