Welcome  to  the  Public  health  moment from  the  University  of  Minnesota. About  300,000  people  are expected  to  die  this  year  from  cervical  cancer, about  85%  of  them  from  developing  countries. What  are  the  risk  factors  for cervical  cancer  and what  preventive  measures  should  women  take? We  asked  Kristen  Anderson, a  cancer  epidemiologist  at  the  University  of  Minnesota. The  main  risk  factor  for  cervical  cancer  is a  sexually  transmitted  virus known  as  human  papilloma  virus. Most  people  who  are  sexually  active  will  come  in contact  with  one  of  these  viruses  at  some  time, but  most  of  us  will  clear  it  without  incident. The  best  prevention  for  women  right now  is  to  get  routine  Pap  smears, routine  screening  for  cervical  cancer. We  can  detect  precancerous  lesions, treat  them,  and  prevent  it  from  progressing. Anderson  says  that  a  new  cervical  cancer  vaccine is  also  an  option. The  vaccine  that  is  currently licensed  by  the  Food  and  Drug  Administration, it  is  called  Gardasil. It  is  a  vaccine  against  four  different  types  of  HPV, two  of  which  are  the  most  common  causes of  cervical  cancer  around  the  world. This  vaccine,  if  it's given  to  people  before  they  contract  the  virus, can  protect  against  development of  most  types  of  cervical  cancer. With  another  public  health  moment,  I'm  John  Finnegan.