Boys 'should get cervical cancer jab'

Published on Friday 29 August 2008 21:40

THE government should extend the planned cervical cancer vaccination programme to teenage boys as they contribute to the transmission of the disease, an infectious diseases expert said yesterday.

Dr Paul Yeo said 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" who could spread the virus to women later in life when the effect of the vaccination has potentially worn off.

Dr Yeo also suggests that cost might have been a factor in the government selecting the current vaccine – which protects against only the two strains of human papillomaviruses (HPV) connected closest with cervical cancer – over another which also protects against other harmful strains of HPV.

The development of 70 per cent of all cervical cancers can be linked to infection by human papillomaviruses. From September girls aged between 12 and 13 in the UK will be vaccinated, with a catch-up campaign for girls aged up to 18 starting in autumn 2009.

Dr Yeo, who specialises in virology and infectious diseases, at Durham University's School of Medicine and Health, said: "I would question why boys are not included in this vaccination programme as it is, after all, a sexually transmitted disease. 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. These women will be vulnerable to infection later.

"By not vaccinating boys, we are potentially leaving a pool of infected individuals who could spread the viruses."