RSPH is urging the government’s vaccination advisory committee (the JCVI) to extend vaccination for human papilloma virus (HPV) – currently only given to girls – to all boys, ahead of the announcement expected this week of the committee’s decision on whether to extend vaccination to men who have sex with men (MSM).

HPV is a common sexually transmitted infection that causes a range of cancers (cervical, vaginal, vulval, penile, anal, and oral) as well as genital warts. It is estimated that, every year, HPV causes almost 5,000 cases of cancer and more than 39,000 cases of genital warts in women, and more than 2,000 cases of cancer and 48,000 cases of genital warts in men.

The HPV vaccination is offered to all girls at the age of 12 or 13, with take up rates at 86% nationally, but as low as 80% among some demographics. Boys are not currently vaccinated, on the basis that female vaccination offers them herd immunity. However, this does not protect MSM, or those who may have sex with women from outside the vaccinated population. The JCVI began an inquiry into the benefits and cost-effectiveness of male vaccination in 2013, but this is not expected to report until 2017, delaying potential implementation until 2020 at the earliest.

In the meantime, the JCVI has been considering whether to extend the vaccination to MSM only, through a programme targeted at men aged 16-40 through sexual health clinics. Although this move would be welcomed, RSPH, alongside the other 41 members of the HPV Action campaign group, is clear that this is at best a stopgap, and vaccination must ultimately be extended to all boys to offer full and equal protection from HPV and its consequences.

Shirley Cramer CBE, Chief Executive of RSPH, said: “Extending the HPV vaccination to men who have sex with men, while a step in the right direction, is an imperfect solution. For the vaccination to be most effective, it must be delivered at age 12 or 13, before infection through sexual activity and when the immune response is greatest. The proposed programme for MSM would be unlikely to reach enough men, nor reach them at the optimal time, while it would be neither ethical nor practical to try to identify and vaccinate adolescent boys who might later become MSM. The only foolproof solution is to extend the vaccination to all boys. All children, whatever their gender or sexual orientation, have the right to full and equal protection from the life threatening cancers associated with HPV. The longer we delay, the more people we are leaving at risk from a preventable infection.”

Since the publication of this story the JCVI has today (18th November) recommended a programme of HPV vaccination for MSM up to the age of 45. Find out more