Only 5 per cent of women are aware of the virus that causes cervical cancer despite the fact four out of five women will catch it at some point in their lives, a seminar audience was told today.
The warning comes as a new vaccine to fight the HPV Virus is being made available in an historic breakthrough for women's health.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of cervical cancer in Europe with around 1,000 new cases of pre-cancer cells found each year. Of those, around 200 cases result in cervical cancer and on average 70 women die.
At a seminar at the Royal College of Physicians in Dublin, health chiefs and politicians were told that 25 per cent of Irish women wrongly believe that cervical cancer cannot be prevented.
It was also claimed only one in five women are aware of the HPV virus and that just 5 per cent of women know that it causes cervical cancer.
All sexually active women are at risk of cervical cancer and up to four out of five women will catch HPV at some point in their lives. While most infections clear naturally, some may persist and lead to cancer.
But international health experts claimed Ireland was now in a position to develop a strategy to eliminate the disease.
PA