BOYS should get the new cervical cancer jab as well as girls according to an infectious diseases expert.
Dr Paul Yeo of Durham University, who specialises in virology and infectious diseases, today urged the Government to extend the planned cervical cancer vaccination programme to boys because they contribute to the transmission of the disease.
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aid that although the vaccination programme is a welcome step in reducing deaths, by not vaccinating boys the Government risks leaving a "pool of infected individuals". Dr Yeo also suggests that cost might have been a factor in the Government selecting the current vaccine over another which also protects against other harmful strains of human papillomaviruses (HPVs), rather than just two of the strains.
From September girls aged between 12 and 13 in the UK will be vaccinated against certain strains of HPV with a catch-up campaign for girls aged up to 18 starting in autumn 2009. Fourteen thousand schoolgirls in the Lothians have been offered the jag.
Dr Yeo said: "I would question why boys are not included in this programme as it is, after all, a sexually-transmitted disease which can lead to the cancer.
"Males can be considered the vehicle for the transmission of these viruses with the population. It is not known yet how long the vaccine will protect. Even with the use of booster jabs, protection may wane after ten years or so.
"By not vaccinating boys, we are potentially leaving a pool of infected individuals who could spread the viruses to women later."
He added: "In addition to the two strains strongly linked to cervical cancer, there are other HPVs associated with sexual diseases, notably HPV6 and 11.
"The vaccine chosen by the Government does not protect against these, yet there is a vaccine, called Gardasil, that will protect against all four viruses."
Some parents are unhappy about the idea of a vaccine to protect from a sexually-transmitted disease, saying it is giving out the wrong message – that it is a licence to have sex.
Dr Lorna Killocks, consultant in public health medicine for NHS Lothian, said: "It is part of a wider message about sexual health, but most importantly it is an anti-cancer jag."
The full article contains 378 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
