Some of you may have read last week that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved
expansion of the use of the vaccine Gardasil for the prevention of genital
warts in boys and men, ages 9 through 26.
Gardasil has been approved for use in girls since 2006 for the
prevention of cervical, vulvar and vaginal cancer and genital warts due to
several major types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The vaccine is
recommended for girls at this age because it is important for them to get the
vaccine before their first sexual contact - before they have been exposed to
HPV. For males, the vaccine is aimed at protecting against genital warts and
less common occurrences of penile and anal cancers. It is also believed that vaccinating males
would help cut down the spread of the virus to their sexual partners. At some point in their lives more than 50% of
sexually active men and women are infected with HPV.
While HPV most likely is not a concern for your son or
daughter now, it is important that as parents we remain well informed about
sexual health issues as they impact upon our children. This new announcement from the FDA about
Gardasil for males may be a good opportunity to talk with your family
pediatrician. It is a sexual health question that you can add to your list for
the annual visit. As the primary
sexuality educators of our children it is also critical that we continue to
foster open lines of communication with our middle school child as they enter
their adolescent years. We all recognize that if we don't talk to our children
they are likely to get information, and often misinformation, from their
friends, the Internet, magazines, television or other sources. Some of their friends may be talking about
getting vaccinated against HPV so be prepared to answer questions from your
child. Stay informed, find out more. You may also want wish to click on a link
below to learn more about the vaccine in females as well as males.
www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm187003.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/std/HPV/STDFact-HPV.htm
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