UK pilot scheme for HPV testing announced

The NHS is to start screening women for human papilloma-virus (HPV) if they have a mild or borderline cervical smear result. Women who test positive for the virus will then be “fast tracked” for further investigation and treatment.

The pilot scheme will start this summer and run for a year at three sites as part of the NHS cervical screening programme. The UK National Screening Committee recommended the move following the publication of a report from the Health Technology Assessment programme last September (www.hta.nhsweb.nhs.uk/). This said that the evidence supported testing for human papilloma-virus when a …