One of the main demands of doctors for years has been that the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine -responsible for 90% of cervical cancers- should also be inoculated free of charge in boys and not only in girls, as has been the case since 2008.
Finally, the Spanish Public Health Commission has approved this January 2023 the inclusion of this serum in the vaccination schedule of all minors, regardless of gender. Thus, the rule will be applied equally throughout Spain, following the objective pursued by the WHO and which countries such as Australia, the United States and Denmark have been complying with for years.
This vaccination will help to protect the entire population against the most prevalent sexually transmitted disease in the world. Firstly, because, in order to curb its transmission, it is necessary to vaccinate everyone, including carriers, in the same way as for covid. Secondly, because it not only causes cervical cancer, although this is the best known, but also causes other types of cancer in both men and women.
This virus, which in most cases the body is able to eliminate in only about two years, is behind 90% of anal cancers, 70% of vaginal cancers, 50% of penile cancers, 40% of vulvar cancers and also of cancers associated with the mouth and pharynx. The latter, in fact, have increased in recent years.
Nowadays, it is possible to detect the infection produced by the different types of HPV before they cause cancer, using genetic genotyping tests as a screening, allowing for a follow up and treatment of the infection.
You can find more info about tests to genotype HPV infections and inclusion of the HPV vaccine in male children in Spain in the following links:
