Scottish schoolgirls became the first in Britain to be immunised against cervical cancer yesterday in a ground-breaking national vaccination programme.

Secondary schools in four health board areas - Lanarkshire, Tayside, Western Isles and Grampian - introduced the scheme, which will be implemented in other areas of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the coming weeks.

The Cervarix vaccine available in schools works by targeting the two main strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV), a sexually transmitted infection, which together cause 70 per cent of cervical cancers. The disease is the second most common cancer in women, with more than a thousand dying of the condition across the UK every year. Jade Goody, the Big Brother celebrity, was recently found to have the disease.

The vaccination, which is not compulsory, will be given in three doses over six months. In addition to being offered routinely to all pupils aged 12 and 13, older girls aged 17 or under, including school leavers, will be able to access the course of injections as part of a one-off catch-up initiative.

The programme's implementation is expected to be complex. Over the next two years, 180,000 girls in Scotland will be offered the vaccine at a cost to health boards of £240 per head.

In recognition of the difficulty of the task, the Scottish government has committed £64 million to funding the scheme for the next three years.

David Cromie, public health consultant for NHS Lanarkshire, said that the vaccination was a huge but crucial undertaking. In Lanarkshire alone, 20,000 pupils from the region's 50 schools must be vaccinated before the end of next year, and an additional 200 nurses have been trained to administer the jabs.

“We're doing this in schools because the vaccine is at its most effective before people have been affected by HPV,” Dr Cromie said. “It is difficult to predict how successful the programme will be because it depends on the uptake, but the benefit for girls in Scotland is that instead of 300 cases of cervical cancer per year and 100 deaths there might be 150 cases and 50 deaths.”

One of the first schools to administer the injections yesterday was Abronhill High School, in Cumbernauld, where pupils began queuing for their jabs at 10am. Walter Hayburn, acting headteacher, said that he was proud that the school was at the forefront of the scheme.

“We are a health-promoting school and we are pleased to be working with NHS Lanarkshire,” he said. “I don't think the girls are eagerly anticipating the injections, but the message to all of them has been that it is an important thing to go through because it will shield them from a horrible disease.”

Although the new programme has health benefits, its introduction has caused controversy. The Catholic Church had objected to the jab, claiming that it could encourage promiscuity. It relented after health and education bosses agreed that girls would not receive additional advice on contraception.

Some parents had expressed similar concerns, but Mr Hayburn said that schools were acutely aware of their responsibility to promote good sexual health. He also pointed out that no parents of girls under 16 had refused permission.

Other worries have centred on the Cervarix vaccine, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline. While it protects against strains 16 and 18 of HPV, another vaccine, Gardasil, manufactured by Merck, which is used in the US and Australia, offers protection against two further types of the virus.

Dr Cromie denied that Cervarix was an inferior vaccine. “It will not prevent against all abnormalities but the two extra strains cause genital warts, not cancer,” he said.

Case study: 'I didn't know anything about the virus'

Rheanne Trueman and Alyson Burns, both aged 17 and sixth-year pupils at Abronhill High School in Cumbernauld, were among the first pupils in Britain vaccinated under the new programme when they received a Cerverix jab yesterday.

“It was a wee bit nippy when the needle was coming out, but it was okay - it was no more than a pin prick, really,” Rheanne said.

“I didn't know anything about the HPV virus until we were told about the jab, but I'm glad we are getting it if it stops cervical cancer. My mum was also all for it because she is a nurse,” she added.

Alyson said that she did not know of anyone who objected to the programme. “Everyone one has been fine about having it,” she said. “It's good that it is being introduced at such a young age because it will protect girls before they are at risk.” She said that her parents had also been supportive. “It lowers the risk of a disease that can kill you.”

Killer bug that lays is wait

Cervical cancer can occur at any age

It is the second most common cancer in women aged under 35 About 300 cases are detected annually in Scotland and it kills about 100 women across the country

At least 1,000 women die from cervical cancer in Britain each year

The cancer is caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) which is mainly spread through sexual contact

Most girls and women will acquire HPV at some point in their lives without knowing it as it is usually symptomless and almost always clears up on its own

Although there are more than 100 types of HPV, only some can cause cancer

The main two types of HPV, 16 and 18, are responsible for 70 per cent of the cases

If HPV gets into the lining of the cervix it can remain there for several years without causing harm

Occasionally, it may start to cause damage to the cells and create lesions which, if left untreated, can develop into cancer

Lesions can be detected by cervical cancer screening and, if caught early enough, can be treated

Britain's cervical cancer screening programme, introduced in the 1980s, has reduced the disease by 43 per cent

Girls immunised against HPV at school under the new vaccination programme will still be required to participate in national screening once they become 20

Source: Health Protection Scotland

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