Two sisters from Wisconsin are claiming the the Gardasil vaccine for the human papillomavirus, or HPV, has caused them to both begin menopause prematurely and are now taking legal action against the vaccine makers, Merck and Co., according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Madelyne Meylor, 20, and Olivia Meylor, 19, both of Mount Horeb, claim that Gardasil caused both of them to suffer premature ovarian failure and left them almost certainly unable to get pregnant.
According to current health regulations, both boys and girls between the ages 11 and 12 are required to get the HPV vaccine. The Meylors have a hearing with the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program, a special court that examines these kinds of claims from vaccines.
Merck and Co., the makers of Gardasil, say that there is no evidence to support the sisters' claim. However, the vaccine injury program has shelled out at least $5.9 million to 68 different cases from people who put in claims against the HPV vaccine. So far 63 claims were dismissed and 81 are currently pending.
According to a brief filed in the case, Madelyne Meylor, a University of Wisconsin-Madison junior, had her first menstrual period at 13, several months before her first dose of HPV vaccine.
Her periods became increasingly irregular after a second dose and stopped altogether after her third dose, at age 15.
Her sister, Olivia, a sophomore at University of Wisconsin-Platteville, received three doses of the HPV vaccine before her first period started at age 15.
Tests have ruled out genetic causes in both sisters and doctors have confirmed that Olivia has no chance of getting pregnant and Madelyne has less than a 5 percent chance, the sisters said.
