GARDASIL™ Study in Healthy Females Between 9 and 26 Years of Age in Sub-Saharan Africa (V501-046)

The study is designed to determine the safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of a 3-dose regimen of GARDASIL™ administered to healthy females between 9 and 26 years of age, in Sub-Saharan Africa. Data from the current study are needed in order to complement existing extensive safety data from the GARDASIL™ clinical trials program, and confirm that GARDASIL™ may be administered safely and will induce immune responses in populations from and living in Sub-Saharan Africa, as GARDASIL™ has not previously been studied in this region of the world.

In Phase A of the study, healthy females between 9 and 12 years of age will be randomized (4:1) to receive the 3-dose regimen of GARDASIL™ or placebo, and those between 13 and 26 years old will receive GARDASIL™. In Phase B of the study, participants who received placebo in Phase A will have the option to receive the 3-dose regimen of GARDASIL™.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria :

* Healthy subjects who are native to and living in a participating Sub-Saharan African country.
* Subject agrees to provide study personnel with a primary telephone number as well as an alternate telephone number for follow-up purposes. If potential subject does not have a telephone number, the subject must provide an address at which he or she may be contacted.
* Post-pubertal female subjects must not be pregnant
* Subjects who are sexually active must agree to use effective contraception or remain abstinent through Month 7 of the study.
* Subjects who have not yet had sexual intercourse must either agree to remain abstinent through Month 7 of the study, or if they become sexually active during the vaccination phase of the study, to use effective contraception through Month 7.
* Subjects who have had sexual intercourse in the two weeks prior to enrollment must have been using effective contraception as defined above. (Emergency contraception is not considered effective contraception for enrollment in the study.)

Exclusion Criteria :

* Subject is pregnant as determined by a positive pregnancy test
* Subject has had a temperature ≥ 37.8 °C or ≥ 100 °F within 24 hours prior to the first injection.
* Subject is currently enrolled in another clinical study of an investigational agent or agents.
* Subject has a history of known prior vaccination with a HPV vaccine, or was previously enrolled in an HPV vaccine study and received either active agent or placebo.
* Subject has received any inactivated vaccine within 14 days prior to enrollment or any live vaccine within 21 days prior to enrollment.
* Subject has a history of severe allergic reaction to any agent (e.g., swelling of the mouth and throat, difficulty breathing, hypotension, or shock) that required medical intervention.
* Subject has known allergy to any vaccine component, including aluminum, yeast or BENZONASE™ (nuclease, Nycomed™ \[used to remove residual nucleic acids from this and other vaccines\]).
* Subject has received any immune globulin preparation or blood-derived products within the 6 months prior to the first injection, or plans to receive any such products during the course of the study.
* Subject has a history of splenectomy, known autoimmune disorder (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis), or is receiving immunosuppressives (e.g., substances or treatments known to diminish immune response such as radiation therapy, administration of antimetabolites, antilymphocytic sera, systemic corticosteroids). Individuals who have received periodic treatments with immunosuppressives, defined as at least 3 courses of systemic corticosteroids each lasting at least 1 week in duration for the year prior to enrollment, will be excluded. Subjects using topical steroids (i.e., inhaled or nasal) will be eligible for vaccination.
* Subject is immunocompromised or has been diagnosed as having Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection
* Subject has known thrombocytopenia or any coagulation disorder that would contraindicate intramuscular injections.
* Subject has known sickle cell anemia disease, active malaria or active tuberculosis.
* Subject has any condition which in the opinion of the investigator might interfere with the evaluation of the study objectives.
* Subject has a history of recent or ongoing alcohol or other drug abuse.
* Female subject has a prior history of abnormal Pap test showing squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL), atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US), atypical squamous cells, cannot rule out a high grade lesion (ASC-H), or biopsy showing cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) or worse.
* Subject has any prior history (or at Day 1) of genital warts or treatment for genital warts.
* Subject with \>4 lifetime sexual partners.
* Subject has undergone hysterectomy with removal of the cervix.
* Subject plans to permanently relocate from the area prior to the completion of the study or to leave for an extended period of time when study visits would need to be scheduled.