HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teenage girls

HPV vaccine cut infection by half in teenage girls

atlanta

A vaccine against a cervical cancer virus cut infections in teen girls by half in the first study to measure the shot’s impact since it came on the market. The results impressed health experts and a top government health official called them striking.

The research released Wednesday echoes studies done before the HPV vaccine became available in 2006. But the new study is the first evidence of just how well it works now that it is in general use.

Only about half of teen girls in the U.S. have gotten at least one dose of the expensive vaccine, and just a third of teen girls have had all three shots, according to the latest government figures.

“These are striking results, and I think they should be a wake-up call that we need to increase vaccination rates,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

FBI ends latest search for Hoffa

oakland twp., mich.

Beneath a swimming pool, under a horse farm and now a weed-grown field north of Detroit. For at least the third time in a decade, FBI agents grabbed shovels and combed through dirt and mud in the search for Jimmy Hoffa’s remains or clues to the disappearance of the former Teamsters boss. Once again, the search was futile.

“Certainly, we’re disappointed,” Detroit FBI chief Robert Foley told reporters Wednesday as federal and local authorities wrapped up another excavation that failed to turn up anything that could be linked to Hoffa, who has been missing since 1975. The latest search for Hoffa’s remains was prompted by a tip from reputed ex-Mafia captain Tony Zerilli.

Militants storm UN compound; 20 killed

mogadishu, somalia

Seven al-Qaida-linked militants on a suicide mission attacked the U.N. compound Wednesday with a truck bomb and then poured inside, killing at least 13 people before dying in the assault.

At least three foreigners were slain during the raid in the Somali capital of Mogadishu, where the United Nations expanded its presence this year, about 18 months after Islamic insurgents were pushed from the city. The militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.

3 midshipmen face sex-assault charges

annapolis, mD.

The U.S. Naval Academy on Wednesday charged three midshipmen — all current or former football players — with sexually assaulting a female student at an off-campus house in Annapolis more than a year ago.

The academy said in a news release that the male midshipmen are being charged with two violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. One charge involves rape, sexual assault or other sexual misconduct. The other is for making a false official statement. The academy did not identify the three male students.

Tropical Storm Barry forms off Gulf Coast

veracruz, mexico

Tropical Storm Barry formed off Mexico’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, prompting Mexican authorities to prepare hundreds of shelters.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said the Atlantic hurricane season’s second tropical storm was drenching areas in its path with up to 10 inches of rain in some places, raising the threat of flash floods.

Associated Press