HPV is sexually transmitted and four strains of the virus are targeted by the Gardasil vaccine. 90% of genital warts are caused by strains 6and 11 whilst strains 16 and 18 are responsible for 70 % or cervical cancer cases in women.
The committee voted unanimously with one absentee vote to recommend the vaccine in 19 to 26 year old males and 7 to 1 that the vaccine was safe for that age group. The clinical trials that the committee were reviewing covered 5000 men aged between 19 and 26 across a number of countries including the US. Three trials were reviewed in total.
Three shots were given to each participant over a 6 month period, tested against a placebo group. Independent doctors checked for HPV in all of the participants. Men who had never experienced HPV saw an 89% reduced risk of getting it.
Although the FDA does not have to follow the recommendations of its advisory committees, it usually does so, and there were no serious side effects recorded in the data to go against any decision to use the vaccine in boys of the right age. Only after thorough FDA consulting will the matter be decided. Females already receive a Gardasil HPV vaccine between the ages of 9 and 26 to prevent them developing cervical cancer. Some countries are also already using the Gardasil vaccine in boys and there have been no safety issues reported in any reports surrounding the vaccine.
