Details about a potentially life-saving vaccine for 12 to 18 year-old girls are being given from today.
The HPV jab protects against the cause of 99 per cent of cervical cancers, and the first session to inform parents and guardians how it will be administered will be at QEII High School in Peel later.
Director of Public Health Dr Parameswaran Kishore says the programme is vital as HPV is very common, and easily spread.
He told Manx Radio:
"It's not necessary to have sexual intercourse to pick up this virus, but any intimate sexual contact can lead to transmission of the virus. Even hand to genital contact can transmit the virus.
"And it's extremely common - among girls aged 15 to 19, a study showed nearly one in five have got the virus already.
"In a high proportion of this the virus is the type that causes cancer, so that's why it's important to vaccinate girls to prevent them from getting this infection."
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