Prevalence and incidence of anal human papillomavirus (HPV) are high among young gay men, according to US research published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases. Overall prevalence of anal HPV infection was 70%, and HPV 16 and/or HPV 18 – the HPV types most associated with anal cancer – were detected in 37% of study participants. Rates of anal cancer are higher among gay men than other groups. The cancer is associated with persistent infection with high-risk HPV types. Gardasil provides a high degree of protection against the two most common cancer-associated HPV types (16 and 18). In the US, immunization with this product is now recommended for all males aged between eleven and 21 years and for gay and other men who have sex with men up to the age of 26 years. Despite these recommendations, little is currently known about prevalence and incidence of anal HPV infection among young gay men. Investigators in Seattle therefore undertook a prospective study lasting one year involving 94 gay men aged between 16 and 30 years. Overall, 70% of men had anal HPV infection detected at some point during the study. HPV 16 was the type with the highest prevalence (28%).
Only, this not just infecting gay men as (HPV) was once believed to have no effect on men, but it’s now found to be extremely harmful to heterosexual and homosexual men as well as women. In fact, giving someone oral sex or receiving it from them if they are infected can seriously jeopardize your health. A new study has found a rapid increase in the number of throat and neck cancers over the last 16 years, with thousands of new cases occurring every single year. In fact, the CDC now strongly recommends that all boys in the US receive vaccinations for HPV. Already, 1 in 5 boys got at least one of the recommended three doses last year. Maura L. Gillison, MD, of the Ohio State University, and colleagues published data in late 2011 showing that the incidence of HPV-related oropharyngeal cancers had increased 225% in the United States from 1988 to 2004. According to the study, researchers attribute this increased incidence to changes in sexual practices, specifically, an increase in oral sex. HPV infection is often acquired during the more sexually active years of people’s lives, in their late teens and early twenties.