Delphine Schiltz, edited by Laura Laplaud / Photo credit: PEAKSTOCK / SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRAR / LDA / Science Photo Library via AFP
According to a study published in the scientific journal “The Lancet”, nearly one in three men in the world are carriers of the papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted disease. To protect themselves, only one effective means, vaccination, possible since 2007 for young girls, since 2021 for boys.
Papillomaviruses or HPV (Human Papillomavirus) are a family of viruses that can infect the skin and/or mucous membranes in both women and men and cause cancer. In France, the papillomavirus vaccine has been recommended for young girls aged 11 to 14 (with catch-up up to 19 years old) since 2007, and for boys of the same age only since 2021. However, men are particularly concerned.
31% of men over 15 worldwide affected
According to a study published in the scientific journal The Lancet, nearly one in three men are carriers of the disease in the world. 31% of men over the age of 15 worldwide are affected by at least one form of HPV. Nearly one in five men in the world is a carrier of a high-risk form likely to cause cancer.
The prevalence of this virus is particularly high among men aged 25 to 29, but another age group is also strongly affected, 15-19. This suggests that they are quickly infected after their first sexual intercourse.
An infection responsible for 6,000 cancers per year in France
The papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the world, responsible for 6,000 cancers per year in France. Half of these cancers concern the cervix. HPV is also the cause of a large number of anal and throat cancers, in both men and women.
To protect yourself, vaccination
Be careful, to protect yourself, the condom is not 100% effective. This is because HPV can sometimes infect the skin around the condom. To protect yourself, only one effective means, vaccination. In France, only 40% of 16-year-old girls are vaccinated. Among boys, only 10%.