Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 June 2013
903. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Health if he will consider extending the HPV vaccination programme to boys in view of the link between the virus and head and neck cancer; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this type of cancer is the sixth most common cancer in men and the sixteenth most common in women; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27286/13]
View answerInternational studies and scientific assessments suggest that the best way to prevent most disease due to HPV is to vaccinate as many girls and women as possible. Routine vaccination is not recommended for boys. According to research carried out by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the burden of disease associated with HPV 16/18 in males is small, as it is related to some anogenital and head and neck cancers and the efficacy of vaccines for the prevention of these relatively rare cancers is not yet known. Following an evaluation of the HPV vaccine in the Irish context, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommended that all girls of 12 years of age should be offered HPV vaccination.
