19-year-old Jessica Butler is given a dose of the Gardasil vaccine.  Picture: Fiona Hamilton Source: Herald Sun

a QUARTER of young girls are forsaking a life-saving cervical cancer vaccine because of ignorance.

Two studies suggested a lack of knowledge was to blame for many girls aged 12-13 not taking up the vaccine, Cancer Council spokeswoman Kate Broun said.

The Gardasil jab, which protects against two strains of the human papillomavirus, the cause of 70 per cent of cervical cancers, is provided free to schoolgirls under a federal government program.

Of almost 3000 year 10 and 12 students interviewed in one study, only a third had heard of the virus, while more than half did not know it was sexually transmitted, and almost two-thirds were not aware it caused cervical cancer. Those numbers would likely be even lower in schoolgirls aged 12-13, Ms Broun said.

The second study found parents knew little about the vaccine, with many unsure whether their daughter should have it.

Some parents did not trust medical experts who favoured the vaccine and were concerned it "condoned" early sexual activity, despite evidence to the contrary.

Infection was common, and typically had no symptoms, but it could have very serious consequences – which was why the vaccine was so important, Ms Broun said.

"These research findings suggest that knowledge about HPV and this vaccine … is really quite low among teenage girls and their parents," she said.

With a better understanding of the serious consequences of HPV infection and vaccination, parents would be far more likely to give consent for it, she said.

The Gardasil vaccine was a major leap forward, and, if all eligible girls were vaccinated, 70 per cent of cervical cancers would be eradicated.