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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

HPV Vaccine: Not Just For Girls

The CDC recently recommended that preteen boys get the HPV vaccine. Besides preventing them from spreading cancers amongst our females, it also protects the guys from HPV induced cancers (including head and neck cancers).Note: The mouths of one in 15 Americans are infected with the HPV STD. The incidence of this and head and neck cancer is 3 times higher in men than women.]

We need to remind ourselves that HPV is not just transmitted by sexual intercourse. Diseases like HPV or herpes are skin-to-skin transmitted (kissing, petting, oral sex). So while condoms are very, very effective in preventing transmission during sexual intercourse, condoms are ineffective when it comes to these two sources of STDs.

NOTE: Remember that this is a vaccine against cancer -- and more than 3/4ths of people who become infected with HPV over the course of their lives are exposed within just a few years of their first sexual experience.

Read:
http://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=142030282

Listen (04:11)-
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2011/11/07/142030282/why-hpv-vaccination-of-boys-may-be-easier