Call to extend cervical cancer vaccine to boys
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
Boys should be given a cervical cancer vaccine only given to girls to protect them against infectious diseases.
The BMA annual consultants conference in London today agreed the UK HPV (human papillomavirus) Gardasil vaccination programme should be extended to boys to provide protection against various cancers.
Consultants said this could also improve population-wide immunity.
Girls are offered the vaccine at the age of 12 or 13 to protect them against cervical cancer. The Gardasil vaccine protects them against genital warts, which are caused by some types of HPV.
International evidence
London GUM consultant Eleanor Draeger told the conference that Australia, Canada and the US had extended their Gardasil vaccination programme to boys after an Australian audit showed it reduced the incidence of genital warts in girls exponentially.
She said doing so in the UK would provide greater protection through herd immunity.
Dr Draeger said: “It is fair to say that there is some [existing] her...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
