Gay men will now be offered ‘life-saving’ HPV jab in England to protect against cancer
GAY men will now be offered the HPV vaccine in England to protect them against cancer.
The nationwide programme with be aimed at men aged 45 or younger who have sex with other men and will begin in April.
It will be available to those who attend sexual health and HIV clinics.
The jab has been available to girls aged 11 to 13 since 2008, which provides indirect protection to boys.
But men who have sex with men are not indirectly protected because they are not sleeping with people who have had the jab.
Scotland and Wales already have programmes in place to provide the vaccine to gay men.
The English programme is following a successful pilot at 42 sexual health clinics in 2016.
Dr Michael Edelstein, consultant epidemiologist at Public Health England, said: "Our evidence shows that men who have sex with men are welcoming an HPV vaccination programme, and it can be delivered successfully through sexual health services.
"Men who have sex with men are a group who receive little indirect protection from the adolescent girls’ vaccination programme.
"We expect the new programme to reduce the number of cancers that are directly caused by HPV."
The human papillomavirus (HPV) is a very common sexually transmitted infection, which affects at least half of people who are sexually active.
HPV is the most widespread sexually transmitted infection worldwide and four out of five of the population will contract some form of the virus at least once in their life.
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In most cases, the body's immune system will fight off the virus and there won't be any need for further tests, in fact, some people may not even know they contracted it at all.
The HPV infection affects the skin and mucosa (any moist membrane, such as the lining of the mouth and throat, the cervix and the anus).
And different types impact different parts of the body, causing lesions - HPV types 1 and 2 cause verrucas on the feet.
It has been linked to cervical, penile and anal cancers.
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It also causes warts.
Dentists have warned that dating apps such as Tinder are putting more people at risk of catching HPV passed on by oral sex.
And a recent study found that men who have never had sex are still at risk of catching the virus.
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