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A vaccine which protects women against infection from viruses linked to cervical cancer has proven more effective than first thought.
New research has shown that the Gardasil vaccine could prevent infection from an extra two strains of the human papilloma virus.
The vaccine was already known to prevent four of the viral strains which accounted for about 70 per cent of cervical cancers, and the extra two strains could extend that coverage to about 80 per cent of cases.
Joanna Hayward-Slattery, group product manager Pharmaceuticals, said the research had also shown women might not require booster shots.
Evidence of immune memory against the viruses indicated a long-term effectiveness, so at this stage there was no requirement for booster shots, she said.
About 180 New Zealand women develop cervical cancer each year, of whom about one third die.
